What is the Faculty Teaching Fellows Program?
The College of Engineering Faculty Teaching Fellows program is a transformative professional development series designed to elevate the quality of teaching within engineering classrooms. This comprehensive program offers a unique opportunity for engineering faculty to enhance their instructional practices and foster a vibrant community of educators dedicated to excellence. In this program, faculty/instructor participants engage in a series of carefully curated programming, centered around research-based instructional strategies. This enables them to explore and implement innovative teaching techniques tailored specifically for engineering, computing, and construction disciplines. A crucial aspect of the program involves creating a supportive community among the participating faculty members. By fostering connections and collaboration, the program cultivates a vibrant network of educators within the College of Engineering. This community serves as a platform for knowledge sharing, idea exchange, and mutual support, creating an atmosphere of continuous growth and improvement.
In addition to the shared learning experiences, the program emphasizes the value of firsthand observation and feedback. Faculty fellows observe other faculty while they teach to gain valuable insights into effective instructional strategies and reflect on own their own teaching practices. Furthermore, faculty fellows themselves are observed, allowing for constructive feedback and tailored guidance to enhance their own teaching practices. Other activities include being paired with experienced instructional designers, one-on-one consultations, teaching-focused professional development, and course and syllabi reviews. By providing a comprehensive framework for professional growth, this program empowers engineering faculty to deliver exceptional educational experiences that inspire and nurture the next generation of engineers through three tiers:
Tier 0 (years 1 and 2): Spanning over a period of two years, the program empowers faculty members to evolve their teaching methodologies by immersing them in a rich learning environment. Upon completion, instructors earn a COE faculty fellow designation for one year.
Tier 1 (years 3 to 6): Faculty may elect to continue their development and renew their title by participating in teaching-focused activities. For each year of participating in program activities, instructors earn a COE faculty fellow designation for one year.
Tier 2 (years 4 to 6): After the 3rd year, a Faculty Teaching Fellow may apply for the prestigious Faculty Scholars track.
We are recruiting the third cohort of COE Faculty to join the 2-year COE Teaching Fellows Program starting in Fall 2023. Applications are now accepted.
Program Timeline
- Faculty earn the Teaching Fellow title after completing 2 years of the COE Faculty Teaching Fellows Program.
- Year 3 is an additional year of a common experience as a Teaching Fellow, including participation in Learning by Design 2.
- After completing 3 years of the program, faculty can choose to follow either the Continuing Teaching Fellow track, or the Teaching Scholar track.
- The Continuing Teaching Fellow track is designed for Teaching Fellows to maintain their title on an annual basis for up to 3 additional years.
- The Teaching Scholar track is a 3-year program designed for Teaching Fellows to conduct their own Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) research project with the support of the ECEC, culminating in submitting a manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, and faculty earning the title COE Faculty Teaching Scholar.
After completing the initial 2-year program, the COE Teaching Fellow title is earned annually, it is not a credential. Each academic year we will host activities focused on a new theme. To maintain your title’s active status for the year, you must complete all the Requirements for Maintaining your COE Teaching Fellow Title for that year. Faculty who maintain their Teaching Fellow title will be compensated at year 3, and for one additional year during the optional 3-year title maintenance period (exact amount TBD).
Faculty who choose to pursue the Teaching Scholar track should complete the activities necessary for achieving the Teaching Scholar title, instead of participating in the Teaching Fellow Title maintenance activities. See the Requirements for Earning a COE Teaching Scholar Title for more information. Faculty in the Teaching Scholar track will be compensated at the end of year 3, and at the end of year 6 (exact amount TBD). If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the program, please contact engr-ecec@unl.edu, Dr. Amie Sommers, or Dr. Tareq Daher. Please note that the program is not currently offered to post-docs and lecturers.
Registration
To register please follow: https://engineering.unl.edu/ecec/registration/.