OPID’s Wisconsin Teaching Fellows & Scholars (WTFS) Program is seeking two Co-Directors – one with expertise in qualitative research and the other in quantitative methods. This year-long program builds and sustains a community of some 26 fellows and scholars from throughout the Universities of Wisconsin to engage in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). The Co-Directors model best practices in teaching and learning, foster a supportive cohort experience, and provide guidance and support for participants to design and implement a year-long SoTL project to systematically assess student learning, and to publicly share their results for critique.  This position requires traveling to four OPID events during the year – Faculty College, Summer Institute, Winter Institute, and the Spring Conference on Teaching and Learning.

Two selected co-directors will partially shadow the current co-directors Valerie Barske (UW-Stevens Point) and Heather Pelzel (UW-Whitewater) in 2025-26, then will conceptualize, develop, and facilitate the WTFS program beginning with Faculty College 2026 and ending at OPID’s Spring Conference on Teaching & Learning in 2027. Co-directors also serve on the OPID Advisory Council with meetings during the fall and spring semesters. WTFS Co-directors collaborate with and report to Fay Akindes, Director of Systemwide Professional and Instructional Development.

Qualifications

• Tenured faculty or instructor in the UW system,
• Demonstrated familiarity with the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning,
• Excellent skills in oral, written, interpersonal, and intercultural communication,
• Understanding of qualitative research methods, including humanistic and interpretive approaches, or quantitative research methods (each co-director will specialize in one),
• Demonstrated experience with implementing specific approaches to equity-minded teaching & learning,
• Experience with online platforms, including Teams and Zoom,
• Intellectually curious and willing to learn new approaches to teaching and learning,
• Collaborative leadership skills,
• Experience with facilitating professional development for instructors.

Strong Preference

• Successful completion of the WTFS or a similar SoTL Community of Practice,
• Participation in OPID events, workshops, trainings, committees, or other communities of practice.

Specific Resonsibilites may include:

• Launching the year-long community of practice at Faculty College – community-building exercises to put participants at ease while reflecting on their teaching and learning approaches,
• Developing a week-long intensive Summer Institute in Madison – five full days of engaging in SoTL, identifying appropriate speakers and readings, facilitating small- and large-group discussions and activities,
• Guiding participants through the process of conceptualizing, contextualizing, designing, implementing, and “going public” with an equity-minded SoTL research project,
• Providing feedback on research templates, meeting participants individually online for research consultation, and supporting participants through the IRB process over the summer,
• Hosting a summer “virtual check-in” session with participants at the end of summer,
• Maintaining communication throughout the summer and fall semester, including providing reminders and support for the “formative peer observation” experience,
• Developing and enhancing a connection to the broader SoTL community of practitioners by attending national or international conferences, participating in reading groups, joining special interest writing groups, collaborating on new SoTL research projects, or other forms of engaging with SoTL as a field,
• Designing a two-day Winter Institute in Madison to prepare for the Spring Conference,
• Maintaining contact during Spring semester, coaching participants in preparing an interactive deliverable for the Spring Conference,
• Structuring and hosting the WTFS Poster Reception at OPID’s Spring Conference,
• Evaluating the year-long community of practice,
• Preparing for the next new cohort.