Through the Faculty Fellowships, LInc aims to positively influence learning and teaching at Harvard and contribute to a growing community focused on intellectual inquiry around learning and teaching.   A LInc Faculty Fellowship permits faculty to dedicate time normally devoted to teaching a course to the re-design of an existing course/ design of a new course so as to implement new research-based pedagogies and improve learning gains.

Harvard faculty participating in the LInc Faculty Fellowship will:

• Join a community of educators dedicated to enriching intellectual inquiry around learning and teaching

• Redesign a course; implement the course redesign and evaluate their redesign for learning gains.

• Develop and enrich their skills as educators

• Develop analytical and research skills relevant to learning and teaching

DURATION AND TIMING

The Fellowships are for one academic year and each Fellowship comprises a re-design and an implementation semester.  

• LInc will fund a teaching replacement for the course normally taught by the Faculty Fellow during the re-design semester

• LInc Faculty Fellows will be assigned a LInc Postdoctoral Fellow with expertise in pedagogy to provide assistance during both the redesign and the implementation semesters.

• Faculty Fellows are expected to participate in weekly LInc lunch activities on Thursdays during the fellowship year 

EXPECTATIONS

LInc Faculty Fellows are appointed for the academic year and are expected to actively engage in intellectual inquiry around learning and teaching by:

• Joining the LInc Faculty Fellows for a weekly lunch on Thursdays during the fall and spring semesters of their Fellowship year. These sessions focus on the development of curricula, the application of the learning sciences to educational design and pedagogy, and the enhancement of teaching skills for active learning.  

• Redesigning their course; implementing the course redesign and evaluating the course redesign for resulting gains in learning.

• Participating in the transfer of knowledge within the university community, either through presentations, interviews, workshops, short videos, etc.

Faculty Fellows remain subject to the standard regulations with regards to travel and time spent off campus and all time normally allocated to teaching (approximately half time) is expected to be allocated to course redesign and active participation in LInc activities. Faculty Fellows must also remain available to give advice to faculty covering their existing teaching obligation.

ELIGIBILITY

LInc Fellowships are open to all full-time Harvard faculty members. Past or current participation in LInc activities increases the competitiveness of applications.

SELECTION CRITERIA

LInc Faculty Fellowship Proposals for course redesign will be evaluated on the following criteria:

• Substantive change: What issues does the proposal seek to address? Does the proposal suggest pedagogical change that alters the manner in which the course is conceptualized or taught?

• Pedagogy: Do the suggested teaching methods support the overall learning goals of the course?

• Plan for Evaluation: Does the proposal offer a plan for evaluation which will provide evidence of the newly designed course effectiveness or resulting gains in learning?  

• Impact of course: In what way will the redesign of the proposed course impact the undergraduate/ graduate area curriculum? What is the relationship of the course to the undergraduate and graduate area curriculum?

• Sustainability: To what extent can the proposal be sustained programmatically following implementation?

• Prior participation in the LInc Community: To what extent has the applicant been involved in the LInc Community and LInc’s programming/ events?   

PROPOSAL REVIEW

A Faculty Review Committee, composed of university wide faculty, specialized in the area of innovation in learning and teaching, reviews all proposal submissions and recommends the finalists. The committee may request additional information or a short presentation.

FUNDING

In consultation with the Faculty Fellows, relevant Area Chairs, and the Executive Dean for Education, LInc will appoint and fund a teaching replacement for the course normally taught by the Faculty Fellow during the fellowship. LInc will provide a Postdoctoral Fellow to assist each Faculty Fellow during the re-design and implementation semester.

LInc does not fund costs associated with the teaching of the course, including software and/or hardware. These costs are expected to be covered by the ordinary teaching budget.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Faculty interested in being considered for a LInc Faculty Fellowship should submit the following materials: 

LInc Faculty Fellowship Application Process

 
 
 PROPOSAL REVIEW TIMELINE

For submission questions, please contact Lisa Frontado, Director, Learning Incubator- Email: Lfrontado@seas.harvard.edu.