The 3M National Teaching Fellowship: Findings from a National Questionnaire on the Impact of the Program

Abstract

In 2016 the 3M National Teaching Fellowship reached a milestone in celebrating the 30th anniversary of the first fellowship in 1986. The fellowship is the premier award of the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and each year up to 10 fellows are announced. Thus far, there has not been a systematic review or evaluation of the fellowship program. This study is a starting point to engage the various stakeholders and gather their perspectives regarding the fellowship program. This paper highlights the findings of a national questionnaire that targeted 3M National Teaching Fellows, administrators, educational developers, faculty, and students. The findings provide a snapshot of the awareness of the fellowship, the impact of fellows on their institutions and beyond, and recommendations for the future of the program.

The 3M National Teaching Fellowship: A High Impact Community of Practice in Higher Education

“…Future research might explore ways of how the fellowship program could address this challenge, considering the program does not engender a simple acceptance of these attitudes. We also encourage future researchers to consider the impact of the program from a broader perspective, perhaps seeking to examine the opinions of individuals outside of the fellowship program (e.g., Ahmad et al, 2017) or using other theoretical frameworks to examine impact (e.g., Guskey, 2002;Hart, Diercks-O'Brien, & Powell, 2009;Kirkpatrick, 1994).…”