Collaborative Faculty Fellowship
“One of the greatest lessons I have learned … is the importance of intentional self-reflection, or the equivalent of taking time to perceive my environmental conditions. It’s not uncommon for me, and other humans, to be in a constant state of busyness with little time reserved for self-reflection, little time taken to assess whether our current actions still align meaningfully with our current environment. The importance of prioritized reflection time to sense conditions, stay in tune with my environment and the available resources and support, and then proceed in responding accordingly is what I’ve come to understand as a need to ‘process and proceed.’” –Brenda Montgomery, Lessons from Plants, p. 30
The Collaborative for Learning and Teaching at Trinity University is excited to announce the opening of applications for our Faculty Fellowship for the 2024-2025 academic year. This fellowship is open to all full-time tenured faculty, tenure-track faculty, and lecturers. We are open to a partner or team application, but the funds will be split amongst members of the team. The deadline for submissions is February 9, 2024.
This Faculty Fellowship is an opportunity for prioritized reflection on your teaching, pedagogy and/or the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). As you reflect—as you root—deeply into theories, philosophies, and practices of teaching and learning, this fellowship will give you the time and space for new ideas and meaningful connections on your topic of choice to blossom.
While your work as the Collaborative Faculty Fellow may result in a specific output (like a workshop, conference presentation, or an article), we also know that it may take longer to grow and produce the fruit of creativity and collaboration. Our vision for the Faculty Fellow is that you will have the ability to explore deeply and meaningfully your teaching and pedagogy and that this “rooting” will contribute to expanding the knowledge base of The Collaborative’s network of expertise at Trinity. Please note: This is not an opportunity to focus on the content of your courses or research but rather on an aspect of teaching/pedagogy or SoTL that will allow you to flourish as a teacher and a learner.
The Faculty Fellow will become a Subject Matter Expert who can partner with other folks at Trinity to contribute to a culture of continual growth in learning and teaching practices.The Fellow will meet monthly with a Collaborative partner during their fellowship, and will continue to be a resource for Trinity faculty and staff in their topic after completion of the fellowship. The Fellow may also choose to work closely with The Collaborative in developing materials for programming or asynchronous projects (as applicable).
The Faculty Fellow will receive:
a course release*, sponsored by Academic Affairs, to be scheduled within the 2024-2025 academic year.
a fellowship package of $4,000, which can be accessed in the fiscal year of June 2024-May 2025. The package amount will be split between:
$2,000 — a one-time stipend
$250 — community engagement expenses (e.g. coffee with thought partners, lunch with a working group, running a workshop)
$1,750** — travel expenses and/or purchasing books, software, resources
* If circumstances make it impossible for you to receive a course release in the 24-25 AY, please still submit your application and we will explore options. Only one course release is available; if your application is a team submission, please reach out to us to discuss how it will be distributed.
** If you anticipate spending more than $1,750 on travel/resources then that additional amount can be subtracted from the stipend (for a total spending budget of up to $3,750).
In your application submission (due on this Google Form by FEBRUARY 9, 2024) please include the following:
A detailed description of the particular teaching, pedagogy, and/or SoTL topic you want to explore in your fellowship and why this topic is important to you. (500 words or less)
A description of how you will engage and share with the Trinity community and, as applicable, beyond Trinity. (250 words or less)
A description of how you plan to proceed should you be awarded the fellowship. (500 words or less)
A budget—as specific as possible—detailing how you plan to spend your funds (e.g., books, resources, courses/trainings, conferences). (upload a Document, Spreadsheet, or PDF)
If you have any questions, please contact The Collaborative (collaborative@trinity.edu) to make an appointment to discuss your ideas or application further. The current Teaching and Learning Support Committee will review the applications, which will be anonymized after submission, and determine the winning application. The 2024-2025 Rooting Faculty Fellow will be notified no later than March 2024.