Georgia Southern faculty member selected as Governor’s Teaching Fellow for 2023-2024
A faculty member from Georgia Southern University’s Department of English, Amanda Konkle, P.h.D. has been selected as a fellow by the Governor’s Teaching Fellows Committee for the 2023-2024 Academic year.
Established in 1995 by former Georgia Governor Zell Miller, the Governor’s Teaching Fellows Program assumes the challenge of moving higher education faculty members to the leading edge of instructional practice. The program, only open to state institutions as well as to all private colleges and universities in Georgia, involves total immersion in techniques for improving teaching, student engagement and assessment as well as the completion of a pedagogical project. Participants attend six, three-day symposia over the academic year, while also engaging in instructional improvement projects on their home campuses.
“Our faculty are cutting edge, and Dr. Konkle is an example of that,” said Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Carl Reiber, Ph.D. “Our faculty always seek to meet our scholars where they are, tailor subject matter according to students’ learning styles and deliver world-class education. This achievement serves as proof that our faculty never cease to find new ways to advance students at Georgia Southern.”
Konkle shared her upcoming personal and professional goals as a fellow.
“I want to refresh my teaching,” Konkle said. “Our world and our students’ worlds have changed so much and so rapidly after the pandemic, and we as faculty need to reflect on the opportunities and challenges these changes pose. I want to think more about technology and pedagogy, and specifically how faculty in the humanities can work with Artificial Intelligence to prepare our students for the workforce they will enter after graduation.”
Konkle is also developing a new Pathways in English course for the new, comprehensive English major. This course is geared toward demonstrating that an English major is an ideal major for learning the transferable skills that are essential to the 21st century job market. This goal of how best to prepare students for that future is central to the project she’s working on as a fellow.
“We in the humanities are just as valuable to students’ futures as those whose disciplines are more directly correlated to careers,” she said. “I hope to enhance my ability to communicate that to students, parents and the community through my experience with the Governor’s Teaching Fellows program.”
To date, more than 75 different disciplines, professions and teaching areas have been represented by the Governor’s Teaching Fellows Committee.
Last updated: 6/16/2023