Preparing Future Faculty
The Future Faculty Fellowship Program was designed to accomplish three goals: to improve the educational experience of UNC students in courses taught by graduate students, to prepare graduate students for their first experience as independent instructors, and to help them understand the roles and responsibilities they will share as faculty members in higher education. The instructional program consists of an intensive, six-day seminar designed as a "capstone experience" for graduate students nearing the end of their degree programs. To recognize the value of the commitment to professional development that participation represents, each Fellow will receive a certificate and a $500 honorarium upon completion of the course. Participants will also receive a set of books on college teaching for use as texts in the seminar and as reference sources for their careers in the future.
Participants in the seminar will learn how to:
- design and teach courses that emphasize critical thinking and higher-order learning;
- evaluate student learning using methods that are valid and reliable;
- gather and use information from students and peers to improve teaching;
- prepare for the academic job search, including the creation of a teaching portfolio;
- balance competing responsibilities in the life of a junior faculty member;
- develop a strategy for successful grantsmanship; and
- create an effective and efficient approach to scholarly writing and publishing.
The seminar addresses a wide range of topics related to teaching and learning at the college level and is designed as a hands-on experience for the participants. The seminar consists of six days of instruction, from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm daily, with "working lunches" in which participants discuss issues regarding academic professional life with master teachers from the faculty. Homework includes readings, Web assignments, and preparatory exercises for each day's lessons.
To learn more about this program, please check the Center for Teaching and Learning’s website. Visit the CTL events calendar for the latest program dates and deadlines.