ISSOTL Fellows Program

The ISSOTL Fellows Program is designed to provide a collaborative leadership opportunity for ISSOTL members interested in mentorship and outreach aimed at enriching and expanding the ISSOTL community.  ISSOTL Fellows join colleagues from across the globe to form a cohort of SoTL ambassadors and advocates.  Together, the Fellows contribute to the breadth and depth of ISSOTL’s support for SoTL by

  • mentoring emerging SoTL scholars in ISSOTL as they develop a SoTL portfolio, form an international network, and/or explore the potential of SoTL within their career trajectories, and
  • reaching out to grow the ISSOTL community, especially from new geographical and disciplinary areas, institutions, and populations.

The mentorship and outreach experiences gained through the Program expand each ISSOTL Fellow’s professional visibility and capacity for collaborative leadership and professional outreach, while the cohort—a blend of regions, disciplines, and career stages—becomes the Fellow’s community of peers with shared commitments. Through the work of the cohort and the relationships forged through its processes, the ISSOTL Fellows Program enriches each Fellow’s professional life and serves as public recognition of their exceptional contributions to an international organization.

Selection into the ISSOTL Fellows Program allows the individual lifetime Fellows status. That being said, it is expected that the active cohort-based work will extend over a two year period. In Year 1 (Induction Year), the incoming Fellows cohort will focus on community building and identification of planned points of Society impact, mentorship, and leadership. In Year 2 (Implementation Year), these Fellows will then focus on implementing their targeted action projects and assessment of the impact of this work.

Examples of mentorship and outreach activities for individual ISSOTL Fellows and the cohort as a whole include but are not limited to the following:

  • hosting “office hours” (in person at the annual ISSOTL conference, virtually at other times) for mentoring emerging SoTL scholars,
  • participating in the New to ISSOTL sessions for new members and first-time ISSOTL conference participants, 
  • developing materials for the ISSOTL website or blog and/or for submission to Teaching & Learning Inquiry to support the goals of the ISSOTL Fellows Program,
  • Serving as a reviewer for Teaching & Learning Inquiry and/or ISSOTL conference proposals
  • Contributing to ISSOTL blogs, newsletters, and other avenues of communication
  • Serving as ISSOTL ambassadors and advocates, particularly to mentor colleagues from underrepresented regions or academic positionalities.

Selection Process (Recognition Committee)

ISSOTL Fellows are selected through an application and adjudication process facilitated by the ISSOTL Recognition Committee, which oversees selection processes for all ISSOTL elections, awards, and recognitions.

Guidance & Substantive Support (Advocacy Committee)

The ISSOTL Fellows cohort, once established, is guided by a subgroup within the ISSOTL Advocacy Committee (i.e., two co-facilitators) with collaborative leadership also coming from the cohort as a whole. The ISSOTL Fellows co-facilitators, through their role on the Advocacy Committee, support the work of the cohort and serve as liaisons between the larger Advocacy Committee and the ISSOTL Fellows cohort.  As liaisons, ISSOTL Fellows Program co-facilitators work to ensure alignment between the shared goals of the Advocacy Committee and the Fellows, by encouraging projects and activities that build on ISSOTL’s mission-driven work while also allowing for the creativity of the cohort.

Selection Criteria & Application Materials

Selection Criteria

ISSOTL Fellows are selected according to the following criteria:

Category

Potential Criteria

ISSOTL experience, familiarity

  1. Has at least 5 years experience as an ISSOTL member (does not have to be continuous membership, but is in good standing at the time of application)
  2. Has been an active ISSOTL member (e.g., committee member, Special Interest Group member or chair, a reviewer for TLI)

SoTL experience

  1. Has completed several SOTL projects and has shared this experience at more than one occasion (could have shared through workshops, conference presentations, digital sharing, or other),
  2. Presented at conferences (ISSOTL or regional SOTL conferences), and
  3. Published at least one SOTL publication

Collaboration, support, mentorship experience

  1. Has experience in supporting SOTL at local, national or regional levels (e.g., mentoring the SOTL projects of others, initiating and leading collaborative SOTL projects, planning and conducting SOTL activities/events for colleagues)

Application Materials

Applications will include the following:

Artifact

Attributes of this Artifact

CV

 
  1. An annotated SoTL CV that includes a discussion of lessons learned, future aspirations for one’s teaching and learning work, etc. 

Narrative that includes…

  1. One-page Personal SoTL Philosophy (a self-reflection on their approach to and value for mentorship in SoTL)
  2. One-page reflection of how the candidate sees SoTL developing in his/her location, and what challenges/gaps need to be addressed 
  3. One-page discussion of their commitment to the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion in SoTL and how they will incorporate an emphasis of DEI into their work as a Fellow

External materials

  1. External feedback from at least one colleague (student, staff, faculty, or administrator) that speaks to how the candidate’s SoTL work has made a difference to teaching and/or learning, and/or mentoring others/leadership  in their context. 

2020 Fellows

  • Michelle J. Eady, Associate Professor, University of Wollongong, Australia
  • Mandy Frake-Mistak, Educational Developer, York University, Canada
  • Melanie Hamilton, EdD Candidate, Western University & Educational Development Specialist, Lethbridge College, Canada
  • Amrita Kaur, Senior Lecturer (Educational Psychology), Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia
  • Hasitha Mahabaduge, Assistant Professor of Physics, Georgia College, USA
  • Patrick Maher, Dean of Teaching, Nipissing University, Canada
  • Marian McCarthy, Centre for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL), University College Cork, Ireland
  • Lucy Mercer-Mapstone, Lecturer in Curriculum, The University of Sydney, Australia
  • Jane Pritchard, Principal Lecturer, Oxford Brookes University, United Kingdom

2019 Fellows

  • Earle Abrahamson,  (University of East London, UK)
  • Anita Acai,  (McMaster University, Canada)
  • Qi Gao,  (Beijing Institute of Technology, China)
  • Ruth Healey,  (University of Chester, UK)
  • Kirsten Jack,  (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK)
  • David Pace,  (Indiana University Bloomington, USA)
  • Nachamma Sockalingam, (Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore)
  • Roselynn Verwoord, (University of British Columbia, Canada)
  • Cherie Woolmer,  (McMaster University, Canada)

2021 Update

In light of the twin circumstances of the pandemic and ISSOTL’s new structure, the Board of Directors have decided the Society and Fellows Program are better served if we spend some time reviewing the initiative and more actively engaging the two cohorts of 18 ISSOTL Fellows. We will therefore suspend the call for application for a new cohort for the time being. Look instead for opportunities to connect with the ISSOTL Fellows this year and updates about the program next year.

 

Timeline for Administrative Components of the Program
March in the fiscal year prior to commencement of cohort activity Call for Applications
May in the fiscal year prior to commencement of cohort activity May and June of the fiscal year prior to commencement of cohort activities

Deadline for Applications

Adjudication Process by ISSOTL Recognition Committee

July, Year 1 of Cohort Announcement of ISSOTL Fellows Cohort
Timeline for Cohort Activities 
July – early October, Year 1 Orientation period
Cohort and Co-Facilitators start getting to know each other
October, Year 1 (Annual ISSOTL Conference) Commencement of Cohort Activities
Community-building and goal-setting meeting(s), facilitated by Co-Facilitators
– Introduction at Newcomers Event
– “Office hours” and mentorship opportunities for emerging SoTL scholars
Year 1
Year 2

Ongoing cohort development, information gathering and planning

Project implementation and sharing out of work
– Additional convenings at annual conference

May 15, Year 1 and Year 2 Annual Report of Fellows Cohort
– Generated by Co-Facilitators, to be submitted to ISSOTL Board
June 30, Year 2 End of cohort’s targeted active cycle