Teaching Fellows

Teaching Fellows are the experimenters, early adopters, realists and role models, who help to build a transformative student experience at Washington State University. The teaching fellowship facilitates scaling of teaching innovations across disciplines and campuses in support of Strategic Plan Theme 2 Goals for the Transformative Student Experience.

Teaching Fellows embody the institution’s commitment to excellence and provide leadership to the university community in the scholarship of teaching and learning. Teaching Fellows comprise faculty members (tenure track or clinical) acknowledged as leading teaching scholars who have been competitively appointed to the fellowship. All individuals selected to hold the position retain the title of University Distinguished Teaching Fellow throughout their careers.

The award providing time and resources to Teaching Fellows will be spent in the advancement of evidence-based teaching practices that foster student success and engage faculty peers in application of successful practices, particularly but not exclusively at the undergraduate level.

Goals of the AOI/PO Teaching Fellows Program

• To promote evidence-based teaching across the University through study of the impacts of new spaces, tools, and instructional approaches on student learning.
• To build a community of faculty members who collaborate to advance their own teaching effectiveness and to mentor colleagues.
• To create faculty leaders who work together and with other stakeholders to guide the development of new learning spaces and implementation of academic technology tools across the university.
• To identify and create opportunities to further research on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning through extramural funding sources.

Application

• Individual faculty or faculty team interested in applying for a teaching fellowship must complete the application form detailing a proposed work plan, clearly articulating an evidentiary foundation for their work, and explaining how the work will benefit teaching and learning, broadly, at WSU. Work plans should address the specific goals of this program as listed above.
• Complete the Budget template. Faculty may apply for one year and may request up to $20,000. Overhead or facilities/administrative costs do not apply. Proposal budgets will need to include personnel benefit costs if faculty or staff salary is included.
• Evidence of approval of the Department Chair and College Dean for the proposed work plan must be submitted with the application.

Fellows may apply for a second year of continued support for the original project, with continuing proposals evaluated on the basis of with progress demonstrated during year one. Fellows will be funded on the same project for a maximum of two years. Fellows may re-apply five years or more from the ending date of their funding period.

Required Commitment:

Presentation: Teaching Fellows are expected to engage faculty across the system in conversation and commitment to student success through presentations, mentoring, small group conversation, and or workshops. Therefore, they are expected to participate in at least one Academic Outreach and Innovation (AOI) faculty development initiatives, for example, the annual Academic Technology Forum, Faculty-Led Workshops, and Teaching Innovation Forum. AOI will collaborate in the facilitation of other presentations and workshops as desired by any individual Teaching Fellow.

Meetings: The Teaching Fellows will meet regularly through the academic year to mentor one another and to plan, assess events and collaboration efforts. Meeting coordination is the responsibility of AOI.

Reporting: Fellows will submit a summary report of his/her experience and the benefits that have accrued to teaching and learning as a result of these activities, within one year following residence in the chair, to the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Assistant Vice President of AOI.

Showcase: Fellows are expected to submit a research proposal in order to participate in the WSU Showcase.

It is expected that Fellows will continue to advance their own teaching effectiveness and to mentor colleagues, such as through participation in occasional workshops to the university community and advising faculty who want to implement success-promotion strategies in their classes.

Management: Program logistics will be managed by the assistant vice president for AOI and liaison to the Office of the Provost for Academic Innovation.

Fellows will be selected by a committee of peers.