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Teaching Fellows

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The Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching and Toronto Metropolitan University are committed to the advancement of teaching excellence and pedagogical leadership. To advance this mission, the Centre has established the Teaching Fellows Program, which encourages a scholarly and reflective approach to teaching and engagement in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). SoTL is the deliberate and methodical study of teaching using established scholarship to improve learning, resulting in context-specific findings that can be taken up by colleagues and community to support student experience and learning. The fellowship provides faculty with an opportunity to engage deeply with a pedagogical issue, problem, challenge, or enhancement that will add to their and our understanding of disciplinary teaching, innovative approaches to teaching and learning, and pedagogies that address social justice and inequity. Teaching Fellows will also serve as a liaison between the Centre and their faculties, coordinating and contributing to faculty-specific teaching development.

Call for 2024-2025 teaching fellows

Tenure-track or tenured faculty are invited to submit applications for a two-year fellowship opportunity. The third cohort of the program will admit three fellows and will run from January 1st, 2024 to December 30, 2025.

Date Action
September 2023 Applications for the third cohort open September 26, 2023. 
October 2023

Potential applicants can attend an information session to learn more and ask questions about the Teaching Fellows program.

Deadline to submit an application is October 30, 2023 (EOD).

November 2023 Proposals will be adjudicated by a committee led by the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching and chaired by the Vice-Provost, Academic or their designate. 
December 2023 Announcement of selected teaching fellows.
January 2024 Funds will be made available in January 2024, after the recipients attend the Teaching Fellows kick-off session.

Coming soon: Potential applicants can attend an information session to learn more and ask questions about the Teaching Fellows program (date and time to be announced soon).

Interested in submitting an application? These past workshops may be of interest to you:

Please carefully review the information about the fellowship before proceeding with your application. Applications close EOD Monday, October 30th.

To apply for the fellowship, please submit the following:

  1. SoTL proposal (3 pages maximum including references). Please include the following:
    1. Research problem
    2. Research questions
    3. Proposed methods (including timeline)
    4. Impact on TMU teaching and learning
    5. Dissemination plan 
    6. Personal positionality statement (e.g., how have your experiences as an instructor led to this research? Why are you well-positioned to carry out this research?)
  2. Budget form ( (google sheet) please make a copy of this template (external link) )
  3. CV
  4. Letter of support from dean

About the fellowship

  • The first cohort is from January 2022 to December 2023 (Active)
  • The second cohort is from June 2022 to May 2024 (Active)
  • The third cohort will be from January 2024 to December 2025 (Applications open September 26, 2023)

Teaching fellows will have opportunities to:

  • Participate in a community of practice with their current and past cohorts
  • Co-create teaching development resources for colleagues
  • Develop their SoTL knowledge and skills through meetings and workshops

Applications will focus on examining the impact of implementing substantial and sustainable program, curriculum, or course level changes in order to enhance student learning, while being aligned with the Centre and the university’s priority focus areas:

  • Indigenous Pedagogies
  • Anti-Racist Teaching 
  • Inclusive Teaching 
  • Mental Health and Well-being
  • Experiential Learning
  • Teaching and Learning with AI
  • Community-engaged Learning
  • Supporting International Students
  • Supporting Student Success and Persistence
  • Students as Partners in Creating Learning Experiences
  • First-year Experiences 
  • Blended Learning and Alternate Modes of Delivery

Teaching Fellows will complete a project, in which they will:

  • Design and conduct publishable research on the impact of their teaching innovation to advance student learning
    • Plan and design (environmental scan and literature review, development of a project research plan, and development of assessment mechanisms to measure the success of the project)
    • Implement and assess (implement projects either in the classroom or through a curriculum review process, collect and analyze data)
  • Extend the University’s commitment to a scholarship of teaching
  • Participate and lead within the Community of Practice to enrich and enhance the quality of learning and teaching 
  • Provide instructional development opportunities to support educational excellence within their own Faculties (e.g., mentorship)
  • Co-create and deliver workshops in collaboration with Educational Developers at the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching 
  • Serve on future adjudication committees
  • Attend Community of Practice meetings
  • Attend the mid-term check in meeting with the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching
  • Submit a brief summary report or video interview to be published and archived on the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching website:
    • First cohort due on or before December 30, 2023
    • Second cohort due on or before May 31st, 2024
    • Third cohort due on or before December 30, 2025
  • Present findings at the Learning and Teaching Conference to be held in May each year.
  • Credit the Teaching Fellows in any publications, conference proceedings, or media appearances resulting from the funded project.

Accepted Fellows receive a total of $11,000 in research funds across two years, as well as one course release (one semester), to be taken within the fellowship period.

The majority of the funding is expected to be spent on the hiring of Research Assistants. The remaining funding can be spent by Fellows at their discretion to support any the following activities related to the goals of the Teaching Fellows program:

  • Promotion of SoTL to colleagues/peers (maximum of 5%)
  • Materials and related costs (maximum of 5%)
  • Travel and conferences (maximum of 15%)

Tenure-track or tenured faculty who have demonstrated commitment to excellence in their own teaching and willingness to champion the importance of teaching development in the university community.

Guidelines and adjudication

Budget Justification 

Funding requests should conform to the rates and regulations of Toronto Metropolitan University, and be fully justified in terms of the needs of the project. Teaching Fellows are asked to provide a detailed explanation in the budget justification form as to how the funds will be used to achieve the project objectives. Additional funding and in-kind contributions should be clearly stated and will be taken into account.

Applications requesting to develop new technologies, software, or databases are subject to the adjudication committee requesting a consultation with Toronto Metropolitan legal in addition to the standard application requirements. 

Eligible Expenses

  • Student and non-student research assistant salaries and benefits - Please review the  Hiring Guide (Research Staff & Part-Time Casual). Funds may not be used to hire TA/GAs, lab monitors, or invigilators.
  • Professional/consulting services - Consulting fees and professional services (e.g., guest speakers, Indigenous elders, transcriptionists, etc.) are eligible expenditures. Please review the purchasing thresholds and demonstrate in the Budget Justification that expert advice is needed. If you have planned to contract consultants, please include a quote in your application (along with HST if applicable).  Please review our policies for Paying Vendors, Independent Contractors, and making Honoraria payments. 
  • Travel and dissemination costs - a maximum of 15% of requested funds can be allocated towards travel costs directly related to the funded project, including reasonable conference travel costs (e.g., registration fees, food, hotel, etc.) to present a project's findings. Please include a detailed description of the conference and a strong rationale for the relevance to the project. The adjudication committee will prioritize requests to support student engagement in scholarly communities. Please review the Faculty & Staff Reimbursement Policy and Reimbursement of Business Meals, Travel and Expenses Policy.
  • Funds from other sources - Include all other contributors (e.g., IEC Curriculum Development Funds) that are providing in-kind or financial contributions for the proposal. Indicate whether or not these funds have been confirmed.
  • Software licenses - requested software must be clearly and directly linked to the project’s process or outcomes (i.e., the project relies on this particular software to be carried out)
  • Equipment and hardware - requested equipment or hardware must be clearly and directly linked to the project’s process or outcomes (i.e., the project relies on this particular equipment or hardware to be carried out). 
  • Participant incentives - According to TMU’s  (PDF file) Guidelines for Incentives, Reimbursements, and Compensation, an incentive is “anything offered to [research] participants, monetary or otherwise, to encourage participation in research” (p. 205*i). For example, gift cards, etc., may all be used by researchers to incentivize potential research participants to participate in research-related activities. While the University does allow incentives for research participants; there are some documents that need to be filled out in advance of dispersal. The  (PDF file) declaration form and participant incentive form (external link)  need to be filled out by the Project Lead and the recipients to acknowledge the incentive.  
  • Materials/food for research team meetings, Community of Practice meetings, or other related activities in support of the SoTL project and its dissemination

Additional Notes and Ineligible Expenses

All non-consumable items purchased with the awarded funds will remain the property of Toronto Metropolitan University.

  • Wages for faculty, regularly assigned teaching assistants, or staff members who would normally be employed by the university, are considered ineligible expenses. 
  • Fellows may not pay themselves with funds. 
  • Funds may not be used for capital expenditures (e.g., renovations).

Timeline: 

We ask that each application be accompanied by a proposed timeline for goals and activities to demonstrate proposal feasibility within the two-year timeframe. 

Proposals will be vetted and ranked by a committee led by the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching and chaired by the Vice-Provost, Academic or their designate. The adjudication committee will be announced in October.

The Teaching Fellows adjudication committee: TBA

Funds will be made available in January 2024, after the recipients attend the Teaching Fellows kick-off session.

Funds must be expended no later than December 2025.

The administration of funds and initiation of HR contracts will take place through the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, on behalf of the Principal Investigator. 

Proposals require authorization of the department or school chair and dean.

All research involving humans, conducted by or with faculty, staff or students affiliated with Toronto Metropolitan University must be reviewed and approved by the Research Ethics Board (REB) prior to commencement of the study.

We believe in the importance of Open Educational Resources (OER) — teaching, learning, and research materials that are published under an open license to permit their sharing and reuse by others. We require you to publish your fellowship output under an open license. Learn more about open licenses (external link) .

Please ensure all videos have closed captioning, or any audio has a transcript. This is a mandatory requirement for any public facing content as stipulated by the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Accurate captioning of at least 99% accuracy is the only way to ensure that people who are D/deaf or hard of hearing can understand audio content. Automatic captions should never be used as a substitute for captions. It is recommended to budget around $1.75 CAD per minute for professional third-party captions. Learn how to caption videos, or contact accessibility@torontomu.ca for a list of recommended vendors.

Appointed teaching fellows 

Dr. Angela Lee

Dr. Angela Lee

Dr. Angela Lee is an Assistant Professor at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law, which she joined in 2020 as a member of the inaugural faculty. She received her JD from the Peter Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia, and her PhD from the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Law. Prior to joining the Lincoln Alexander School of Law, she held positions as a Part-time Professor at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Law and as a Schulich Fellow at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University. As a first-generation immigrant, law school graduate, and academic, she strongly believes in the importance of representation, and is committed to mentoring and supporting students who are similarly situated. She has received several awards relating to teaching, including the Lincoln Alexander Law Students' Society's Professor of the Year Award for the 2020-2021 academic year, and the Dean's Teaching Award for the 2021-2022 academic year. Apart from pedagogy, her research interests and areas of expertise include environmental justice, food law, animal law, innovation policy, feminist legal studies, and critical race studies. 

Project Abstract

The Lincoln Alexander School of Law (LASL) is Canada's newest law school, with an ambitious mission premised on the idea that a different kind of lawyer is needed in contemporary Canada—one who is keenly aware of considerations of social and racial justice, one who is technologically literate, and one who is prepared to work for communities that have traditionally been underserved, among other distinguishing features. However, law is, in many ways, an inherently conservative field, and if it is to evolve to reflect more progressive values, practices, and aspirations, in addition to reflecting a more diverse demographic makeup, then legal education is both part of the problem and part of the solution. During this crucial stage of LASL's development, this project seeks to reflect more intentionally on our curricular design and pedagogical practices, and the extent to which these are contributing to the realization of the school's mission. In particular, this project asks how legal education can be made more holistic,  how so-called “soft” or “transferable” skills can be taught (and the value of such skills adequately communicated), and how to build a lasting sense of community among the students that they can take with them beyond our doors.

Jennifer Poole

Dr. Jennifer Poole 

Jennifer or Jen Poole (she/her) is a first-generation white settler to T’karonto. In her professional life, she is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work where her work has long been focused on madness, sanism(s), heartbreak and grief. While supporting and companioning learners is her priority, she has served in various leadership roles in her School and beyond. Current collaborative re-search projects focus on sanism(s) in the helping professions, the effects of white supremacy on grief and loss as well as interrupting colonialism and carcerality in education. She is also a co-parent, a community peer supporter, a TEDX talker and a very silly auntie. She is happiest outside.

Project Abstract

When grief comes to class: Gathering story, knowledge and experience on learning and teaching with grief 

There is much scholarship on learning and teaching about grief. There is little on learning and teaching while grieving. This is partly because of what Anderson (2020) calls ‘grief managerialism’ or the pressure to manage grief out of educational spaces. However, during this pandemic and long before, grief has ‘come to class’ anyway. Consequently, this inquiry seeks to gather story, knowledge and experience to better understand: 1. How is grief ‘coming to class’ for learners and educators? 2. What knowledge(s) do learners and educators already have about how to meet and learn with and from grief? 3. What do learners and educators want to know and have access to when it comes to grief learning and resources? Informed by critical theoretical, community and activist work, the project will be grounded in a critical qualitative approach and guided by a group of learners and educators. Together, data and process decisions will be made, stories and knowledge(s) gathered and findings shared in ways that reach and teach multiple folx on and off campus. 

Yukari Sato

Dr. Yukari Seko

Dr. Yukari Seko is an Assistant Professor at the School of Professional Communication and an Adjunct Scientist at Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. As a critical communication scholar by training, Yukari is interested in the potential role of communication in disrupting an oppressive system of normalcy and fostering an inclusive space where diversity can thrive. Communication settings that she has been studying include supervisor-student relationship in higher education, provider-client communication in pediatric rehabilitation, and food shaming at Canadian school lunchtime.

Project Abstract 

Effective supervision is vital to graduate students’ successful and timely completion of their degrees, particularly for those from non-dominant backgrounds. This Teaching Fellow project “Implementing solution-focused communication in graduate supervision: A parallel community of practice for students and supervisors” stems from the belief that equity-minded higher education needs robust training and community building for supervisors to serve as agents of change. It also aims at supporting graduate students in developing their capacities to empower themselves and others.

Over the course of two years, I will: 1) co-design parallel Community of Practice (CoP) for supervisors and graduate students to practice solution-focused (SF) communication; 2) iteratively assess learners’ engagement and experience with the CoPs; and 3) create a sustainable network for supervisors and students within and beyond our university. This project is built directly on my Learning and Teaching Grant project (2020-21) that piloted Solution-Focused Graduate Supervision (SFGS).

Linying Dong Headhshot
Dr. Linying Dong

Bio

An innovative educator and a passionate researcher, Dr. Dong focuses on experiential education and applied research. She has been awarded numerous teaching awards for her teaching excellence including the most prestigious lifetime teaching achievement award at Toronto Metropolitan University, the Provost’s Award for Experiential Teaching (2018). She is also the recipient of multiple teaching awards, including the Dean’s Teaching Award (2020), Best Poster Award by Toronto Metropolitan LTO (2016), and the TRSM Innovation Teaching Fund (three times from 2017 to 2018). Dr. Dong is devoted to using emerging technologies to engage students not only within but also outside the classroom. Her recent project, funded by a Learning and Teaching Grant, examines the impact of using AI chatbots to improve student learning.

Project Abstract

Higher education learning is challenged by a rising trend of students working while studying. Studies have discovered that working while studying reduces learning time and increases fatigue and psychological detachment from school. Students who work while studying experience lower well-being and a higher probability of repeating or dropping out. To address the adverse impacts of working while studying, this project aims to experiment with seamless learning (learning anywhere and anytime) by engaging student learning beyond the classroom. In particular, the project proposes to (1) deploy an AI chatbot that serves as a 24x7 learning buddy and (2) motivate students to develop TikTok-like learning materials. By offering seamless learning via interactive technology and engaging learning materials, the project could stimulate student learning and cultivate positive student learning behaviors, resulting in not only enhanced learning outcomes but also a better work-study balance. As an early effort in seamless learning, the project bears significant theoretical and practical implications.

Francis Duah Headshot
Dr. Francis Duah

Bio

Dr. Duah joined the Mathematics Department in 2021 as an inaugural Assistant Professor in STEM Education Research. A Fellow of the UK Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications, Senior Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy, and a BSc graduate from the London School of Economics, Dr. Duah is a mathematician with multiple identities and a multidisciplinary background. He received his PhD in Mathematics Education from the Mathematics Education Department, Loughborough University, UK and an MSc in Mathematics Education from the School of Education, University of Southampton, UK. He held positions in the UK as the Mathematics and Statistics Skills Centre Manager at the University of York and Senior Lecturer at the University of Chichester. Dr. Duah’s research interests are in quantitative social and educational research, and computational social science. He currently researches learning and teaching of undergraduate mathematics, transitions in undergraduate mathematics, and widening participation in the mathematical sciences.

Project Abstract

The advent of the faculty-student partnership movement (see for example, Cook-Sather et al. 2014 (external link) ) has shown that it is mutually beneficial for faculty and students to work together to explore issues of learning and teaching, and course design. The goal of such faculty-student partnership is often to enhance the student learning experience, improve achievement, and reduce student attrition. During his tenure as a teaching fellow at the Centre of Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Dr. Duah will develop and research a model of faculty-student partnership in Learning and Teaching Development. The partnership will work to introduce learning outcomes for all topics taught in two Mathematics courses, and align these with learning activities and assessment tasks. He will research this intervention in order to understand its impact on the student learning experience and achievement on the courses. The findings and implications of this scholarship of learning and teaching project will not only be of interest to all who teach mathematics to specialist and non-specialist students, but also those who teach courses on other programmes.

Dana Osborne Headshot
Dr. Dana Osborne

Bio

Dr. Osborne is a linguistic anthropologist housed in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures. Key themes of her research focus on multilingualism, codemixing and switching, and more recently, the ways in which language can be leveraged as a political tool. She teaches courses in methods, anthropological theory, linguistics, and linguistic anthropology, among others. As an anthropologist trained in the four fields of the discipline with a focus on language, one of her core philosophies of teaching focuses on the funds of knowledge that students bring to the classroom. This approach takes as a foundational principle that students are not empty vessels waiting to be filled, but that they are fires to be stoked, whose ultimate contribution to a given intellectual space is to share their understanding of the world with others in the mutual construction of truth and knowledge.

Project Abstract

The focus of Dr. Osborne's project is to assess and analyze elements of the student experience in an Introduction to Anthropology course using a storytelling approach to teach complex anthropological concepts. Careful storytelling within anthropology engenders the use of the lessons of ethnography in ways that can be transferred into the learning environment without adding too much theoretical baggage to the project at the outset. In this way, integrating meaningful opportunities to tell stories as a transformational pedagogical tool is one that can be seamlessly integrated into classrooms across the university community. It is a tool that has the potential to increase the positive valency of student experience by fostering possibilities for drawing critical connections between students’ own experiences and the experiences of others, and it is a highly sustainable tool for learning focused on increasing the efficacy in learning.

Contact

For technical assistance, please email teachingcentre@torontomu.ca

If you have any questions or would like to discuss a potential proposal, please connect with Jenny Ge at jenny.ge@torontomu.ca