UW-System Teaching Fellows Program

Program Description and Purpose:

The Wisconsin Teaching Fellows Program is designed for outstanding teachers who have between two and six years of full-time teaching experience. The Program allows faculty and teaching academic staff from all disciplines the opportunity for intensive discussion and inquiry into teaching and learning. The Program provides a cutting-edge curriculum designed to support the development of Fellows as college teachers and as scholars of teaching and learning.

The Wisconsin Teaching Fellows Program is designed for untenured faculty and academic staff who have demonstrated promise of exceptional teaching. The Program provides these Fellows with collegial opportunities to further develop their teaching, to explore pedagogical practices that promote student learning by completing a classroom research project and, ultimately, to become resources to their colleagues throughout the System.

Value to Institutions:

The Wisconsin Teaching Fellows Program benefits the institutions in the following ways:

• Raises the profile of teaching on the campuses;
• Identifies and rewards a cadre of quality teachers who model outstanding teaching, share their expertise, and become leaders at their institutions and throughout the System;
• Invests in the creation of long-term, productive relationships between instructors and their institutions, thus helping to retain the best and the brightest.
• Program assessment reveals that many former Fellows have received outstanding teaching awards, have become leaders in faculty development, and have led teaching improvement efforts on their own campuses.

Participants:

Each UW institution may select one faculty or instructional academic staff member, for a System total of fifteen Fellows per year.

Selection Process:

Provosts, in consultation with appropriate representatives from the LEARN Center, will select one Fellow and designate two alternates. We suggest that Provosts publicize the Program in their campus newsletters, and then consult with their OPID Representatives, campus deans, and directors of campus teaching centers during the selection process. The Call for Nominations will be sent out to Provosts in late September, with a response due date of Late November.

Selection Criteria: To be selected, Fellows must:

• Show promise of exceptional teaching;
• Demonstrate evidence of interest in programs related to teaching and learning;
• Demonstrate early evidence of curricular or pedagogical innovation;
• Exhibit engagement with students;
• Be active members of their campus community.

Structure:

The Wisconsin Teaching Fellows Program requires attendance at several OPID-sponsored events throughout the fellowship year, beginning with Faculty College, followed by a one-week Summer Institute, a fall meeting, and culminating with OPID's annual Spring Conference. Faculty College is, traditionally, held over a three-day period in early June at UW-Richland Center.

The Teaching Fellows' Summer Institute (traditionally held in late June in Madison) coincides with that of the Wisconsin Teaching Scholars Program (a similar professional development program targeted for mid-career faculty and instructional academic staff). This one-week overlap of the two programs will allow for informal mentoring between senior and junior faculty.

At the end of their fellowship year, participants demonstrate their learning and development through an appropriate culminating experience, such as a publication, conference presentation, campus workshop, or demonstration classroom.

Cost to the Institution:

Each institution will provide $3,000 to support their participating Fellow. Additional costs include travel, lodging, and meals for the one-week Summer Institute, and travel to and from the other OPID events (e.g., Faculty College, the OPID Spring Conference) that constitute the program. OPID provides significant staff support, pays the Director's salary, and supports lodging and meals at Faculty College and the Spring Conference.

Staff:

Jane Ewens, Former Chair of the University of Wisconsin Colleges Psychology Department and frequent presenter for OPID events, will direct the Program, with additional staff and program support from OPID.

If interested in the program, contact the LEARN Center.

Link to UW-Teaching Fellows: http://www.uwsa.edu/opid/wtf/index.htm

Previous UW-Whitewater Teaching Fellow Representatives