The University of Waterloo Teaching Fellows program arose out of the 2011 final report of the “Taskforce on Innovative Teaching Practices to Promote Deep Learning at the University of Waterloo”. Recommendation 4 in this report was to “Appoint and support a number of University Teaching Fellows” to build a community of Faculty leaders focused on teaching and learning.
The Faculty of Environment Teaching Fellow’s mandate is to
- Advance the Faculty’s mentorship, peer teaching, and collaborative teaching/learning approaches, and to
- Develop and/or encourage effective, experiential and innovative teaching approaches.
Appointment:
- During the spring or fall term of even-numbered years, teaching faculty and staff will be asked for written expressions of interest in becoming a Teaching Fellow for the subsequent two calendar years.
- Each expression of interest must provide a two-page summary of what would be undertaken and achieved within the two-year timeframe, and the budget needed to support the initiative. It is important that each proposal demonstrate how the initiative would have impact that goes beyond an individual instructor and, in most cases, beyond an individual course.
- Initiatives might include, but are not limited to, facilitation of the improvement of instructors/teaching assistants through workshops, training modules or mentorship programs; curricular design; the development of innovative teaching materials, such as cases and experiential education projects; or programming that supports the professional development of students outside of courses.
- From the expressions of interest, one or two Fellows will be appointed for a two-year period. The appointment(s) will be made by the Dean of the Faculty of Environment, in consultation with the Associate Deans of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies. Teaching Fellows may be appointed in successive terms, based on the merit of the proposal.
Budget:
- Up to $30,000 will be used to support the initiatives of the Fellow(s), and some of these funds could be used to hire graduate or undergraduate students to support activities. Also, funds will be provided by the Dean’s Office to allow a one-course buy-out for each fellow once during the two-year appointment.
- In addition, each year, $2,000 will be made available to support the Student Teaching Excellence Committee. The Student Teaching Excellence Committee will operate under the guidance of the Associate Deans of Graduate Studies and Undergraduate Studies, and will have access to the Teaching Fellow(s) as a resource.
Service Responsibilities:
The Fellow(s) will be asked to
- attend the monthly meetings of the University Teaching Fellows,
- attend the Opportunities and New Directions annual conference of UW, and
- be a resource for the Student Teaching Excellence Committee.
In addition, the Fellow(s) is encouraged to connect with the various resources available through the Centre for Teaching Excellence and is required to prepare a summary report at the end of the two-year appointment, to be posted to the Faculty’s website.
Endorsed by the Faculty of Environment’s
- Executive Committee - November 10, 2016, and
- Faculty Council - November 22, 2016,
to replace the 2013 Faculty of Environment Teaching Fellow Terms of Reference.
Last updated in November 2016