Innovate Awards

FACET's Annual Innovate Awards

The FACET Innovate Awards recognizes faculty who bring passion, innovation, and creativity to the classroom to promote student success. It also helps share and disseminate best practices in teaching for the benefit of the IU community and beyond. For the first time, applicants from outside IU will be accepted.

In 2026, Innovate Awards moved from the FACET Annual Retreat to FACET Learning Conference (FALCON), strengthening the conference’s role in celebrating teaching innovation. Nominees will be recognized at FALCON in September 25, 2026.  

Submit an application in any of the categories by August 15: 

  • Collaborative activities: Do you have an effective collaborative classroom activity? What does this activity look like, and how does it promote peer-to-peer engagement in addition to student learning? 
  • Community engagement: Do you have an effective community engagement activity? What does this activity look like, and how does it promote community engagement in addition to student learning? 
  • Creative uses of online tools: Do you have a particularly effective method or activity that uses online tools (applications, programs, or Canvas tools) to promote student learning? What does this activity look like, how does it work, and how does it impact student learning? 
  • Skills across the curriculum: Do you have an activity that empowers students by teaching them how to learn skills across the curriculum, such as reading, writing, speaking, critical thinking or others? 

Submit application by August 10

Eligibility

Anyone with responsibility of teaching an undergraduate or graduate class, regardless of status or rank, is eligible to apply. Applicants are not restricted to IU faculty (as of 2026). Finalists are required to attend the conference to present their innovation at the new rebranded FALCON Conference. 

Application Process

Please submit an application by completing and submitting the Innovation Application Form by August 10th. Only one person per application, co-applicants are not eligible starting in 2026. The application includes: 

  • The name, email, and institution
  • The category for the application; choose from the above categories 
  • Details outlining the specific activity or assignment that forms the basis of the nomination (title of the activity, courses where the activity can be used, learning outcomes (150 words), description of the activity (300 words), rationale (150 words) 
  • A reflection on the effectiveness or impact of the activity or assignment (300 words) 

Selection Process

The FALCON Planning Committee will evaluate to select three finalists for each category. Finalists will be notified by September 1st, at which point they will be asked to prepare a poster presentation of their activity to share during FALCON at a dedicated poster session. 

The winners will be determined by in-person voting during FALCON. All FALCON attendees with participate in voting to determine the winner for each category. The ceremony recognizing the winners will be held at the conclusion of FALCON.  

FACET will provide each finalist a discount to attend FALCON. As finalists and category winners will be recognized at the conclusion of FALCON, finalists must attend the Innovate Awards ceremony during the conference. 

Expectations for Finalists' Poster Presentations

The finalists will: 

  • Present during the Innovate Award Nominees Poster Session during FALCON on September 25, 2026 
  • Include an oral narrative, roughly 5 minutes 
  • Professionally printed poster (36” x 48”) – horizontal or vertical  
  • Include information about the activity, its rationale, and reflection on effectiveness or impact 
  • Provide a pdf of the poster presentation to share with FACET  

Samples of previous finalists’ presentations can be viewed here. (Note: this is different than this year’s finalist presentation requirement). 

For questions about applications, awards, or presentations, please email facet@iu.edu. 

Our award categories have included the following:

  • Collaborative activities (2017-Current): Do you or your colleague(s) have an effective collaborative classroom activity?  What does this activity look like, and how does it promote peer-to-peer engagement in addition to student learning?
  • Community engagement (2017-Current): Do you or your colleague(s) have an effective community engagement activity?  What does this activity look like, and how does it promote community engagement in addition to student learning
  • Learning how to learn (2017-Current): Do you or your colleague(s) have an effective classroom activity that helps students learn how to learn?  What does this activity look like, and how does it improve active learning and student empowerment?
  • Creative uses of online tools (2017-Current): Do you or your colleague(s) have a particularly effective method or activity that uses online tools (applications, programs, or Canvas tools) to promote student learning?  What does this activity look like, how does it work, and how does it impact student learning?
  • Intensive writing assignments (2017-2019): Do you or your colleague(s) have an effective intensive writing assignment?  What does this assignment look like, and how does it lead to effective learning outcomes for intensive writing?
  • DEIJ-informed pedagogy (2021-2024): any activity that centers DEIJ-informed pedagogy, for example, effective revisions of course learning outcomes to center equal access to learning, especially through culturally and socially meaningful course work, assessments that increase sense of belonging, based on micro-affirmations, or re-thinking of course activities or resources that promote or increase understanding of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. 

View Previous Winners and Finalists

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