Objective of the Program
The Fellows program is designed for faculty interested in authentically embedding their teaching in the community toward the end of positively impacting the development of culturally responsive teachers.
Responsibilities
- Shadowing and consulting with the Co-Directors of the Alliance to learn principles of research-based, culturally responsive, community-engaged teacher education practices.
- Meeting weekly with the Alliance Co-Directors.
- Designing and developing a community-engaged project, experience, or series of activities for integration into a course or block of courses.
- Completing a final report that includes:
- A redesigned syllabus for a course or block of courses that includes the community-engaged project(s), experience(s), or activity(ies) based on community-identified need.
- An artifact description for the project/experience/activities and a rubric for evaluating the project.
- A summary of the Fellow’s experiences that may be featured on the Alliance website.
Eligibility
All full-time faculty who teach courses in the teacher education curriculum at Ball State are eligible for the Fellows program.
Term of Appointment
The Alliance will select two fellows each semester, each of whom will receive one course release for their work.
Application Process
If you are interested in being considered for a Fellowship with the Alliance for Community-Engaged Teacher Preparation, please complete an application by going clicking here. The completed application must include a current vita and a letter of support from the chair of your department. If you are granted a fellowship, your department will receive $3,000 in course replacement funds. The letter from your chair should indicate approval of a 3-credit-hour load release during the semester in which you are a fellow.
Selection Criteria
For the purposes of the Alliance Fellows program, community-engaged teacher preparation is defined as, embedding teacher education in the cultural contexts in which children and youth grow and learn while privileging the wisdom and expertise of local communities as a decisive element of the candidates’ experience and education. A community-engaged model of teacher preparation supports the development of “community teachers” who aspire to contribute to and participate in a collective will to make educational equity a reality for all children and youth. The characteristics of community-engaged teacher preparation include:
- United visions between the university/school/ community partners
- Mutual engagement in a shared repertoire of strategies to accomplish the vision
- Critical service learning alongside community members
- Joint participation in community mobilization efforts
- Equalization of university/community power structures through privileging local wisdom
Proposals must address at least one of the characteristics of community-engaged teacher preparation to be considered for selection.
Contact
If you have any questions, please contact the Co-Directors of the Alliance for Community-Engaged Teacher Preparation: Susan Tancock (stancock@bsu.edu) or Eva Zygmunt (emzygmuntfil@bsu.edu)