Call for Facilitators for the ICWG24 Cohort: The Past, Present, & Future of ISSOTL
ISSOTL has selected Jennifer Friberg, Claire Saunders, and Mandy Frake-Mistak as the Co-Leaders for the 2024 cohort of International Collaborative Writing Groups (ICWG), which will focus on the conference theme “Reflecting and Reinvigorating: The Past, Present, and Future of ISSOTL.” ISSOTL now invites applications for group Facilitators for this first cohort of the emergent opportunities track of its ICWG initiative.
Facilitator applications are due February 12, 2024.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of ISSOTL, so this ICWG’s focus on “Reflecting and Reinvigorating: The Past, Present, and Future of ISSOTL” invites participants to explore who we are as a Society, how we came to be, what has worked, what is missing, what could be, and how ISSOTL fits into the broader history of SoTL.
Projects emerging from the 2024 ICWG cohort are not limited to traditional manuscripts. Potential projects may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- An analysis of data (e.g., ISSOTL membership, conference attendance, conference presentation, TLI authorship, ICWG participation) to identify patterns in ISSOTL membership and participation
- A deep dive into The ISSOTL Commons (ISSOTL’s newsletter with 16 issues from January 2007 to January 2012) and/or Teaching & Learning Inquiry, which might include data mining, close reading, or other methods
- The development of a searchable database and/or data visualization tool to analyze past conferences (e.g., through conference programs, perhaps extending this project) and creating a process and/or mechanism for adding future conference materials
- A digital storytelling project that draws on existing interviews (i.e., written, video like these, or audio like these) with ISSOTL scholars and collects new interview materials
- An analysis of successful ISSOTL efforts to grow SoTL across contexts, regions, institutional types, etc., reporting on successes, room for growth, and strategies for next steps
- A critical look at the pathways by or through which individuals have “found” ISSOTL and recommendations for making ISSOTL as inclusive and diverse as possible
- The development of ISSOTL resources and recommendations for institutional processes (e.g., how to write about SoTL in applications for tenure and promotion, how to evaluate SoTL in applications for promotion and tenure, how to conduct an external review focused on SoTL, how to find external reviewers), drawing on ISSOTL resources (e.g., material from the Advocacy Committee, relevant interviews and publications).
Participants in this ICWG cohort will convene on October 27-28, immediately prior to the ISSOTL24 conference in French Lick, Indiana, USA (October 28-31, 2024; note that the ICWGs’ pre-conference dates have been shifted to shorten the amount of time ICWG participants are on site, which means the second day now overlap with the pre-conference workshops). In an effort to be as inclusive as possible, we are considering the possibility of supporting one or more fully virtual ICWG groups (i.e., all group participants are virtual on Oct 27-28, not a mixture/hybrid/dual-modality group). That said, ICWG leaders, group facilitators, and participants selected for face-to-face groups are expected to attend the pre-conference working session in person, and to register for and attend the conference. Group facilitators and participants selected for any virtual groups are expected to attend the pre-conference working session virtually. Before and after the conference, then, all groups will work together online to complete their projects no later than October 2025.
Applications for ICWG group facilitators should identify a project topic as well as possible format ideas, drawing from, adding to, or extending the list above. These projects should honor the past and future of ISSOTL, contributing to how ISSOTL (and SoTL) has and might evolve going forward.
Aims and Outcomes
The aims of ISSOTL’s 2024 cohort of ICWGs are as follows:
- build the capacity of participants to innovate and work effectively in international collaborative groups,
- capture the collective historical knowledge into a set of products that live on beyond the individual,
- document ISSOTL’s collective history (i.e., explore who we are, how we came to be, what has worked, what is missing, what could be, and how ISSOTL fits into the broader history of SoTL), and
- foster creativity in identifying the best product(s) for the work of the group.
Expectations for Group Facilitators
Group Facilitators’ focus will be on leading and facilitating their group, and engaging with the whole ICWG cohort (i.e., co-leaders, other facilitators, and participants). We, as the three ICWG24 co-leaders, will lead the overall ICWG cohort coordination and the logistics of the in-person and/or virtual meetings in October 2024. If you are selected as an ICWG group facilitator, you would:
- facilitate an international group of 6-7 members (including you as the group leader) in developing and completing the project, starting in March 2024 and through to the completion/dissemination of the project no later than October 2025.
- work with your group at a distance via online platforms throughout that time period, and during the 2-day session immediately prior to ISSOTL24, in order to complete your project before October 2025.
- ensure that your group meets the various deadlines (see below).
- collaborate with representatives of the ISSOTL ICWG Working Group in their support of the 2024 ICWG initiative.
In various studies of the ICWGs, the role of Group Facilitator has emerged as the most important determiner of the effectiveness of the experience (Marquis, Healey, & Vine, 2014; Marquis, Healey, & Vine, 2016; Healey & Matthews, 2017; Matthews, Marquis, & Healey, 2017; Marquis, Mȧrtensson, & Healey, 2018). The 2018 study aimed at exploring this importance describes 7 themes that collectively characterized the most effective Group Facilitators:
— Connecting participants with the SoTL literature
— Creating an inclusive and welcoming environment
— Encouraging/ensuring participation
— Allowing others to lead
— Delegating responsibilities
— Setting timelines and keeping the group on track
— Assuming responsibility
Costs and Commitments
All ICWG leaders, group facilitators, and participants who are part of face-to-face project groups are expected to attend the two-day, in-person pre-conference working session in French Lick, Indiana (October 26-27) and to register for and attend in-person the ISSOTL24 conference. Group facilitators and participants selected for the virtual groups are expected to attend the pre-conference working session virtually. Note that registration fees for the ICWG pre-conference are waived for ICWG group facilitators.
All ICWG leaders, facilitators, and participants must be current members of ISSOTL.
Benefits
The benefits of serving as an ICWG group facilitator are manifold and range from capacity-building in mentorship, leadership, and communities of practice; improved communication and dissemination skills; improved knowledge of scholarly literature and alternative avenues for the dissemination of SoTL-related knowledge; expanded networks of international colleagues; excellent evidence for one’s academic portfolio (i.e., being selected to lead an ICWG in association with ISSOTL); advancing the field of SoTL; and the list goes on.
Timeline
We expect to have group facilitators selected by February 19, 2024. Then, we will release a call for applications for group participants. The current timeline has groups actively working from March 2024 – October 2025 with tentative milestones being the following:
| Formation of the ICWGs | Co-Leaders Selected (January 2024) –Mandy Frake-Mistak, York University (Canada) –Jennifer Friberg, Illinois State University (USA) –Claire Saunders, Open University (United Kingdom) Group Facilitators –January 22: Call for group facilitators –February 12: Applications for group facilitators due including preferred modality (fully virtual vs. virtual with face-to-face working session at ISSOTL24) –February 19: Group facilitators announced Participants –March 1: Call for participants –March 22: Applications for participants due –April 15: Participants announced |
| ICWGs work at a distance | –April 15: Groups start work –September 15: Abstracts, plans, & identified needs from each group due |
| ICWGs work together preceding ISSOTL24 | –October 27-28, 2024: face-to-face working session preceding the Oct 28-31 ISSOTL24 conference [Note that all co-leaders, group facilitators, and group participants are expected to be in attendance at ISSOTL24, unless a group has been identified as fully virtual.] |
| ICWGs work at a distance | –November 2024 – October 2025: ICWG cohort and individual groups continue working until completion –October 2025: Final products due, recommend presenting at ISSOTL25 |
Applying
To apply for this exciting initiative, please submit the application materials below to Mandy Frake-Mistak (mfmistak@yorku.ca) by February 12, 2024. We will consider individual and co-facilitator applications.
1. A maximum of 500 words clearly outlining your topic:
- Making clear its relevance to the theme of the past and future of ISSOTL;
- and ideas for your project output or product, with the understanding that this will be something other than a traditional manuscript.
2. Key reasons (100 words max) why you believe you would be an effective facilitator for an international collaborative effort on this specific project.
3. A statement (100 words max) of preferred modality for your group’s participation in the ICWG with an explanation of how you plan to foster productive, positive, and ongoing collaboration/group dynamics throughout the ICWG timeline, to project completion.
Questions?
If you have any questions, please reach out to the 2024 ICWG-Public Co-Leaders Mandy Frake-Mistak, Jennifer Friberg, and Claire Saunders through Mandy Frake-Mistak’s email address, mfmistak@yorku.ca.
Tag:ICWG
