TILL Teaching Innovation Award
This annual award honors the University of Louisville's outstanding instructors who demonstrate a commitment to student engagement and learning through their work on one or more innovative teaching practices.
Delphi TILL Award Winners



2024 TILL Teaching Innovation Award Winners
Cynthia Metz, PhD, and Jeff Falcone, PhD, (School of Medicine, Department of Physiology); and Michael Metz, DMD, MSD, MS, PhD, FACD, (School of Dentistry, Department of Comprehensive Dentistry)
Dental Physiology, a foundational content area for first-year D.M.D. students, combines a systems-based approach with innovative strategies to enhance student success on national board exams and in clinical practice. Recognizing the stress of high-stakes assessments, this study implemented a multi-probed approach to improve test-taking skills, including evidence-based video tutorials, collaborative group assessments, and exam debriefings. Survey results showed significant improvements in students’ perceived test-taking abilities and preparedness for the Integrated National Board Dental Examination. The active learning strategies implemented by this team, part of a decade-long effort to modernize the curriculum, have boosted student confidence, engagement, and performance, preparing them for academic and professional success.
Angela Thompson, PhD, PE, and Campbell Bego, PhD, PE, (J.B. Speed School of Engineering, Engineering Fundamentals)
As the first-year experience course for the J.B. Speed School of Engineering, Engineering Methods, Tools, and Practices I introduces foundational skills in graphics, programming, spreadsheets, critical thinking, ethics, and teamwork to approximately 550 students each academic year. With the public release of ChatGPT in late 2022, the course was updated in 2023 to address the appropriate and ethical use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools. The course redesign, guided by evidence-based teaching practices and the ACRL information literacy framework, supports students in developing critical evaluation skills, ethical reasoning, and competence in engineering technologies. This innovative approach prepares first-year engineering students to harness GenAI tools effectively for learning and professional growth.
David Johnson, PhD, MPH, CPH, (School of Public Health and Information Sciences, Health Management and Systems Sciences); Benne Holwerda, PhD, (College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Physics); Ray Chastain, PhD, (College of Business, Information Systems), Breanna Ausbrooks, Student
A retrospective analysis of PHYS 107, redesigned from a traditional lecture-based course to a flipped classroom model between 2018 and 2021, revealed significant benefits for learning outcomes and equity. The flipped design, which emphasized pre-class assignments, low-stakes assessments, and team-based learning, improved overall performance and participation, particularly for female students, who completed assignments more consistently and closed performance gaps in the course. Additionally, the flipped approach significantly reduced Drop-Fail-Withdraw rates compared to traditional sections, even during the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, which negatively impacted DFW rates in traditional courses. These findings highlight the potential of flipped classrooms to enhance learning and support diverse student populations in STEM education.
The TILL Teaching Innovation Award highlights the TILL's goals of (1) implementation and promotion of evidence-based teaching practices and (2) fostering student engagement, learning, and success. Up to three instructors from any of UofL's campuses receive this award each year.
Are you someone who successfully innovates in your teaching? Have you worked to engage students through creative methods or cutting-edge teaching practices? Have you experimented with a new teaching method and found it increased student learning? If so, please consider applying for the TILL Teaching Innovation Award.
Complete information, including award guidelines and requested application materials, is provided in the accordion tabs below.
The award recognizes the importance of teaching excellence among UofL instructors and offers individual recognition to those who explore new methods for fostering learning and improving teaching. Award winners each will receive a $500 cash award. The 2024 TILL Teaching Innovation Award will include innovations implemented during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 academic years.
The TILL Teaching Innovation Award Committee will evaluate the applications based on the strength of evidence of the following criteria:
- The application materials should provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate the significance and effectiveness of the nominee’s innovations.
- The application materials should provide a clear explanation of how the teaching innovation met a need or addressed a challenge in learning.
- Additional consideration will be given to applications who demonstrate the following:
- Creativity in the teaching innovation and/or its implementation
- Potential for other instructors to adopt the teaching strategy (or components of it) within and across diverse academic disciplines
- Extent the instructor has shared the innovation with others (SoTL research submissions or publications, internal or external presentations, etc.)
- The TILL Innovation Award is open to all eligible faculty, staff and graduate student instructors regardless of race/ethnicity, national origin, gender, social class, sexual orientation, age and disability.
- All UofL instructors of record (tenured, tenure-track, non-tenure track, part-time lecturers, and graduate student instructors) employed at UofL are eligible.
If a team applies rather than an individual, the team will split the cash award. The team should submit a single application and submit all CVs as a combined PDF.
Previous Winners
Learn about the teaching innovations developed and implemented by previous winners.
For questions regarding this award, please contact John Whitney, Program Coordinator, Sr., john.whitney@louisville.edu via email or 502.852.7623.