What is the CoSCIES Fellows Program?

The College of Science Community of Instructional Excellence Scholarly Fellows program (CoSCIES) is a peer mentorship community centered on the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). One of the major goals of the program is to create space for instructional teams to be trained and engage in research-based teaching practices. Instructional teams have the largest direct impact on our students' success and therefore have the greatest potential for impact by developing SoTL expertise.

Who can be a Fellow?

All who teach courses in the College of Science are eligible to be Fellows. This includes fixed term and tenure track faculty and the GTAs and LAs they work with. We encourage all people to apply, either as teams or individuals, regardless of previous SoTL experience.

What will Fellows do?

Fellow groups will embark on a project to improve education through SoTL of Evidence-Based Instructional Practices (EBIPs). Projects can vary widely allowing for a diversity of interests. Some groups may focus primarily on course-level EBIP implementation and internal evaluation. Other projects may examine a systemic instructional change among multiple large enrollment courses with a small accompanied survey tool to measure student affect in response to the change. Every group will have a goal of direct classroom and unit impacts. To bring their work to their colleagues, Fellows will plan and host a small workshop for their unit(s) on some fundamental aspect of SoTL that they feel relevant. At the end of each year, the Fellows will have a chance to present their work to the OSU community at the CoSCIES Showcase Extravaganza. We expect being a CoSCIES Fellow requires (realistically) 2-4 hours per week engaged in SoTL activities. If you're already engaging in an Ed Research project, the extra time engaging with the fellowship is much less. Reach out to the program leaders if the time commitment concerns you - we have options and ideas!

What are the Program Commitments?

Fall

• Approximately 6 meetings to discuss and progress CoSCIES work, train in SoTL practices or engage in teaching peer review
• Participate in one-time invited speaker event (may be winter term depending on speaker's schedule)
• Work asynchronously on individual/team SoTL project

Winter

• Periodic meetings to discuss and progress CoSCIES work, train in SoTL practices or engage in teaching peer review
• Plan & execute one unit-level event developed with other program Fellows (may be Spring term and varies widely in scope)
• Work asynchronously on individual/team SoTL project

Spring

• Periodic meetings to discuss and progress CoSCIES work, train in SoTL practices or engage in teaching peer review
• Participate in CoSCIES Showcase Extravaganza

What are the Program Rewards?

• Improved student outcomes
• Supportive community of practice
• Professional Development in education research
• Potentially improved standing in your community
• Scholarly creative outlet
• $1500 Honorarium

Who are the CoSCIES program leaders?

The CoSCIES program was created by Dr. Devon Quick (Integrative Biology, Whiteley Faculty Scholar for Teaching Excellence) and Dr. KC Walsh (Physics, Provost’s Faculty Scholar for Teaching Excellence) based on their experiences engaging in SoTL research through the NSF-funded ESTEME@OSU project. Evidence from that project and other studies reveal that when supported, faculty (even non-tenure track) could achieve substantial and sustainable influence through their SoTL work in their courses and program development, becoming “more valued members of the STEM education community doing challenging and important work” (Fisher and Koretsky 2020).

How do I become a fellow?

Applications to become a fellow are open now. To discuss project ideas or answer questions, contact KC Walsh (walshke@oregonstate.edu) or Devon Quick (devon.quick@oregonstate.edu)