Faculty Teaching Fellows
The goal of creating a "Teaching Fellows" program is to establish a team of experienced and effective instructors who can provide instruction and mentoring to their faculty colleagues around effective teaching. Teaching Fellows can lead workshops on effective teaching, consult with instructors on teaching challenges or innovations, and lead other programs such as learning communities. Such a model leverages the authority and credibility of faculty members who are exceptional teachers and leaders among their peers. This model is an effective approach where an institution's teaching center is small, and where disciplinary expertise is particularly important when discussing teaching.
Learning Objectives
After completing this section, participants will be able to:
Define a Faculty Teaching Fellow
Understand the importance of appointing faculty teaching fellows
Create a customized faculty Teaching Fellows program
Who is a Faculty Teaching Fellow?
A Teaching Fellow is typically an experienced instructor who is known and respected among their peers for being an outstanding teacher. They must be influential among the faculty, as well as easily relatable--that is, their approaches must still be ones others find approachable and possible.
Teaching fellows typically teach the types of courses that the campus wants to particularly improve--for example,, large introductory courses vs small seminars, lectures vs labs, humanities vs sciences, etc. Fellows should also understand applicable theories of learning and teaching, and be successful reflectively applying those theories to their own practice.
Why Create a Teaching Fellows Program?
To expedite professional development
Faculty teaching fellows bring a wealth of expertise and experience to the university's teaching and learning efforts. They are typically experienced faculty members who have demonstrated excellence in teaching and are committed to promoting effective teaching practices. As such, they can serve as mentors and role models for other faculty members, helping them to develop and implement effective teaching strategies and promoting a culture of continuous improvement in teaching and learning.
Enhancing Research and Scholarship Efforts
Faculty teaching fellows can also contribute to the university's research and scholarship efforts, serving as mentors or collaborators for other faculty members' research projects. They can also engage in their own research or scholarship activities, enhancing the university's research profile and contributing to the advancement of knowledge in their respective fields.
Administrative support
Faculty teaching fellows can support various administrative tasks, such as organizing and conducting workshops, developing teaching materials, and coordinating academic events. This can free up other faculty members' time to focus on their research and teaching, while ensuring that these tasks are still completed efficiently and effectively.
Questions to Consider for Senior Leadership
Before creating a teaching fellow program, consider the following question.
What resources might your institution allocate to support a faculty fellows program (e.g., course releases, stipends, materials)?
What commitment will units make to support the program? What is the incentive to the units to support the program? Who will make the commitments?
Which units will provide the course release or other support (e.g., CTL, Academic Affairs, college or department, grant funder)?
How will the institution prioritize the fellows’ efforts?
How will the institution communicate its commitment to the program to academic heads and the broader faculty community?
Who would provide the most meaningful endorsement? (i.e., would an announcement to faculty from the vice provost signal the institution’s commitment more strongly than announcements in units from individual unit heads?)
You can learn more about the ideation, creation, and supporting a teaching fellow programs here.
Examples of Successful Programs
This section lists a few examples of successful teaching fellows programs from universities in the United States. While identical programs may not be feasible in the context of Vietnam, the administrators are encouraged to borrow ideas that might be applicable to, and helpful for their respective institutions.
The Sheridan Junior Faculty Teaching Fellows program, Brown University
Center for Teaching Excellence, Bryant University
Teaching Fellows Program, University of Colorado - Colorado Springs