Amundsen Fellowship Program
The Amundsen Fellowship (formerly the Dewey Fellowship) is named after Dr. Cheryl Amundsen, founding director of the ISTLD. Cheryl has made significant, substantial, and generous contributions to the Faculty of Education as a teacher, scholar, mentor and colleague, and leaves a legacy of dedicated service to SFU through her leadership. Cheryl drew faculty from across SFU together to create substantive learning opportunities for themselves and their students. Her work in supporting faculty development is well known in higher education circles internationally and has served as a model for other institutions.
Amundsen Fellows are continuing faculty members at SFU who have demonstrated their interest and commitment to the investigation of teaching and learning through the successful conduct of at least one project and through other activities within their departments and faculties. They have developed particular expertise in the investigation of innovative course designs and instructional methods that support student learning in their discipline. Amundsen Fellows are invited to work with TILT for a one-year term during which they contribute to our programs and also conduct teaching and learning research that goes beyond their own practice.
Consistent with our mandate to “inspire, support and enhance faculty-led inquiry into all aspects of teaching and learning at SFU,” Amundsen Fellows specifically undertake the conduct of a research project that includes other faculty colleagues as co-investigators. Amundsen Fellows also take part in the day-to-day work of TILT in ways that interest them (e.g., facilitating workshops, providing consultation on projects, providing advice on strategic planning).
Eligibility
Amundsen Fellowship applicants must hold a continuing faculty appointment (lecture or tenure track) at Simon Fraser University and have been an applicant on at least one funded project.
Fellowship Award
- Two course releases (up to $20,000) – upon department/school approval
- $5000 funding to support the research project as outlined in the proposal
- Mentoring from the TILT team
- Assistance with data collection instruments and design, literature review, research assistant hiring, administrative support and grant facilitation
Fellowship Term Duration
Amundsen Fellowship appointments will be held for 12 months
Responsibilities/Expectations
- Gain department/school approval to participate in the ISTLD Amundsen Fellowship Program
- Work with the ISTLD team to develop a research plan
- Conduct their research
- Attend regular ISTLD team meetings (1 per month)
- Share their project’s findings with the university community
- Develop their capacity for teaching and learning inquiry and the ability to mentor others
- Complete a final report outlining the project’s findings
How to apply
To apply, please download and complete the Amundsen Fellowship form (found here) and email it as an attachment to istld@sfu.ca by December 16, 2019.
Your application should include (as outlined on the application form):
Statement of interest (maximum 1000 words) – include why you are interested in being a Fellow and working with TILT, outline your background in teaching and learning inquiry, identify the aspects of TILT would you like to be involved with, summarize your commitment to teaching and learning within department or faculty
Project proposal (maximum 750 words) – Your project idea should be different from your previous project(s) or be a logical next step in investigating the same topic with a larger number of student/faculty participants, and perhaps using additional data sources. In addition, project proposals should:
- Demonstrate the expected impact on student learning at Simon Fraser University
- Describe how the project would go beyond their own practice
- Identify potential collaborators and how you will work with them
Evaluation Criteria
- Commitment to engage in teaching and learning inquiry beyond own practice
- Potential for improving student learning at Simon Fraser University
- Potential of the project to inform and/or influence practice or policy related to teaching and learning broadly at SFU.
Timelines and Important Dates
October – December 16, 2019 |
Application submissions |
December 16, 2019 |
Application deadline |
December 2019 |
Application review and evaluation |
January 2019 |
Successful applicants notified |
January - February 2019 |
Successful applicants seek final approval from departments/schools and Dean |
Spring 2019 |
Official announcement to university community |