Faculty Teaching Scholars Program

Purpose

The Faculty Teaching Scholar Program (FTS) begins with the recognition that all faculty can benefit from a deep dive into the science of learning and evidence-based approaches to instruction, and that, by developing a broad web of faculty who have some expertise in the best practices of teaching and learning all of our students benefit.

As such, the FTS Program is designed to enhance student learning and enrich campus culture by creating a network of faculty capable of supporting colleagues as they respond to the challenges and opportunities presented by changing student demographics, changing technologies, and evolving research in the science of teaching and learning.

The specific goals of the WLU Faculty Teaching Scholars are as follows:

To increase collective expertise on campus relative to evidence-based best practices in teaching and learning. This is achieved not just by allowing scholars to educate themselves and their peers, but by ensuring a continual rotation of scholars so that over time most departments will have a current or former scholar who may serve as a resource to the department as a whole.
To increase individual faculty agency by allowing scholars a chance to grow into their careers, achieving a sense of their full abilities in teaching, pedagogical research, and service.
To ensure a support network that creates a space for faculty - particularly new and early faculty - to explore matters of personal, professional, and pedagogical development.

Description

Still in the pilot stages, the particulars of the program will adapt in response to changing opportunities and challenges at the institution, as well as to feedback from participants, faculty more generally, students, and administration.

That said, at this point the program is as follows:

Generally, three Faculty Teaching Scholars will be active at any given time, recognizing that this may vary depending on funding and sabbatical schedules. The program will begin with three FTS starting in the summer of 2022.
Each Scholar will be a grant recipient for three academic years.
Each grant recipient will receive a stipend of $6,500 each academic year for the duration of participation and funding up to $1,500 in support of attending a national or regional conference dedicated to faculty pedagogical development, for the duration of participation.

Contributions

All efforts will be made to balance the need for Scholars to explore and reflect upon meaningful research on teaching and learning with the understanding that application of that thinking - both in the classroom and in conversation with colleagues - deepens our own learning and enriches the thinking of our colleagues.

As such, while one primary function of the FTS Program is to allow individual faculty time to dive into and reflect upon their own understanding of the science of teaching and learning, there is also the expectation that this learning will benefit the institution as a whole. While the particular contributions of each Scholar will be determined by their particular interests and skills, they may include some of the following:

Modeling best practices in formative observations and consultations, including opening their classroom to peers interested in observing passionate instructors with proven records of classroom effectiveness.
Finding other ways to disseminate their learning - be it through programming, newsletters, one-on-one consultations, etc. - to the benefit of the larger community.
Advancing both their own and others' knowledge of and thinking about various pedagogical approaches including but not limited to team-based pedagogies, high impact practices, and new classroom technologies.
Engaging in the work of scholarship of teaching and learning, including classroom experimentation, the gathering of data, and the dissemination of results through either publication or presentations at national conferences.
Working closely with the faculty and staff of the Harte Center to ensure that continued evolution of the center as it strives to serve both students and faculty.

Additionally, faculty who have participated in the Faculty Teaching Scholars Program will submit brief annual written reports and assessments to the director of the Harte Center and their department chair for each year they participate in the program. These reports should be submitted annually by no later than July 1.

Eligibility

Assuming approval by their department head and the appropriate dean, the Faculty Teaching Scholars Program is open to any tentured member of the teaching faculty. Preference will be given to applicants who have not previously participated in the program. Participation in the Faculty Teaching Scholars Program has no impact on eligibility for sabbatical considerations or Lenfest awards.
Applicants should understand that while some aspects of their work in the program will take place during the summer and breaks, there is an expectation for participation throughout the academic year.

Selection Process

The Director of the Harte Center, in consultation with the Harte Advisory Board, will evaluate applicants based on demonstrated interest and previous engagement in faculty development, enthusiam for learning about the field of faculty development and the scholarship of teaching and learning, dedication to and effectiveness in teaching, strong collaboration and listening skills, and the potential for growth in these areas.
While fellowships may not be necessarily distributed equally among disciplines and colleges, the Harte Advisory Board will make every effort to ensure that all disciplines are regularly represented.
The Director of the Harte Center will notify applicants and the appropriate department chair and dean in a timely fashion. Late applications are considered only if positions remain available.

Application Process

Applicants for the role of Faculty Teaching Scholar should send an email to hartecenter@wlu.edu including:

A concise one- to two-page proposal that speaks to their commitment to faculty pedagogical development, specific ideas for engaging faculty (e.g. workshop, presentations, consultations), and possible metrics to be used to measure success
A teaching activities summary (max of two pages) including:
- Courses taught over the past three years
- A brief description of teaching innovations employed in courses
- Pedagogical (SoTL or scholarship of teaching and learning) presentations, publications, or grant activity
- Teaching awards and recogntions you've been nominated for or received
- Participation or leadership in pedagogical development activites on campus in recent years
Applications are due to the Director of the Harte Center no later than November 1, the autumn before the applicant wishes to begin participation in the program.

Please note: All applicants must receive approval from their department chairs and college deans prior to application. Submitting an application is an indication that faculty have received appropriate approval from these individuals.

Current Faculty Teaching Scholars

Mikki Brock
Faculty Teaching Scholar

Mikki Brock is an associate professor of History at Washington and Lee University, where she has taught since 2014. As a scholar, she is fascinated by religion, society, and the supernatural in early modern Scotland, and she has written on topics including demonology, sermons, women's experiences, and the Scottish Reformation. Professor Brock is currently co-editing the forthcoming Routledge History of the Devil in the Western Tradition and finishing her second monograph, Plagues of the Heart: Piety, Crisis, and Community in Seventeenth Century Scotland. At W&L, she teaches classes including the Age of the Witch Hunts, the Making of Modern Scotland, British Isles to 1688, and the History of the Devil.

Professor Brock is thrilled to join the Harte Center team as a Faculty Teaching Scholar over the next three years. She is especially looking forward to exploring issues related to mid-career burnout, the relationship between teaching and research, and how to build sustainable learning communities built on trust. Above all, she is excited to share, create, and dialogue with her colleagues over the next three years, as for her, pedagogy is a fundamentally collaborative process. When Professor Brock is not thinking about teaching or things that go bump in the night, you can find her volunteering with an animal rescue, running with friends, watching bad TV, and reading good fiction.

Holly Pickett
Faculty Teaching Scholar

Holly Pickett is an associate professor of English who specializes in early modern English drama and religion. She teaches courses on Shakespeare, early modern and modern drama, and writing. As a teacher and scholar, she is drawn to obscure (read: weird) plays that reveal surprising aspects of religious identity and theatrical practice. She just finished writing a book about people who convert back and forth from one religion to another in early modern England, The Drama of Serial Conversion in Early Modern England. Her next book examines the relationship between idolatry and the senses. She loves English archives and libraries, and will, with a little luck, return to one again soon.

Pickett is honored to serve as one of the inaugural Harte Center Faculty Teaching Scholars. She is passionate about fostering a culture of mutual support for faculty at all stages of their careers. She found the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity's Faculty Success Program (a.k.a. "faculty bootcamp") a transformative experience and is eager to pass on to others what she learned there about project management, scheduling, and accountability. Over the next three years, she will focus on learning more about pedagogies of hope, sustainable teaching practices, inclusive pedagogies, and community-based learning. She also welcomes your ideas for workshops, reading groups, or coffee topics. She came to W&L in 2005 and lives in Raphine with her husband, two kids, and cat Luigi. At home, she enjoys British mysteries on the page or screen, walks, and vegetarian cooking.