SoTL Mentor Program

The competitive Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Mentor Program is designed to foster faculty engagement and leadership in SoTL at Georgia Southern University. The mentorship supports up to two faculty each year in their advancement and completion of quality, innovative SoTL research projects that aim to improve the understanding of teaching and learning.

The mentorship is sponsored by the Faculty Center.

Benefits and Expectations

• The participants receive $500 in faculty development funding through the Faculty Center.
• Awardees work with a member of the SoTL Leadership Team, who serves as a mentor and provides feedback based on their own significant experience in SoTL research.
• The award winner will develop and present a workshop on implementing insights from their SoTL research to Georgia Southern faculty and graduate student instructors in the following Fall semester; Faculty Center staff will provide support in developing the workshop.
• Awardees submit a report on their research project, including a report or advanced article draft of the SoTL project research findings, plans for publication of research findings, and a brief reflection on the mentorship experience no later than April 15 of the academic year in which they serve as mentors.
• Awardees present their research to the Georgia Southern Campus community.
• Also see SoTL Mentor Program Description below for more details.

Eligibility

Full-time faculty members (tenured, tenure-track, lecturers, and temporary faculty) may apply for the mentorship. For collaborative SoTL projects, only one application may be submitted (usually for the primary investigator of a project). Previous mentorship recipients are not eligible to apply for four years after receiving the award. Recipients must be employed by Georgia Southern University for the duration of their mentorship to receive the benefits associated with the program. 

Deadline – 2023-2024 SoTL Mentor Program

Applications will be open in Spring 2023. The deadline to submit is April 30, 2023. The recipient(s) will be announced May 15, 2023.

Deadline to submit is April 30, 2023.

Application Format

The successful applicant must propose a quality SoTL project – a project grounded in existing SoTL literature and appropriate research methodology, which aims to examine the impact and outcomes of instructional practice. Projects should be designed to result in concrete insights to be implemented in classes regularly taught at Georgia Southern University and should enrich students’ learning.
Projects may address but are not limited to the study of the implementation and impact of one or more of the following:

• Innovative instructional strategies;
• Creative approaches for assessing learning;
• New teaching and learning technologies
• Different formats of instruction (face-to-face, hybrid, online)

The application portfolio must include the following:

Combine all documents in a single PDF file; 6-8 pages (1” margins, minimum 12-point font, spacing: 1.5 or double spaced).

Project proposal narrative

• Introduction of the research question;
• Overview of proposed research methodology;
• Initial literature review with emphasis on how the proposed project builds on/ responds to previous scholarship.
• Description of how the results are expected to improve student learning and how this project will impact the teaching of one or more courses at Georgia Southern
• Timeline for the development and completion of the SoTL project.

Supporting documents

• Condensed curriculum vitae that highlights relevant SoTL presentations, articles, and/or publications. (2-3 pages)
• A brief letter of support from the department chair. For faculty with a temporary appointment, this letter must address expectations for renewal of appointment with Georgia Southern University. (1 page)

Applicants must submit their applications online. Proposal narratives that exceed 8 pages or do not meet formatting requirements will not be accepted.

Criteria

The award committee is composed of faculty members of the SoTL Leadership Team and Faculty Center staff. The committee will look for persuasive evidence that the applicant:

• Proposes an innovative and relevant SoTL research question anchored in the research literature
• Proposes a well-designed, methodologically sound course of study
• Clearly explains the expected impact of the SoTL project (in particular its concrete impact at Georgia Southern, but wider applications should also be noted)
• Is likely able to complete the project within the proposed timeline.

Once committee members have reviewed all portfolios, the mentors will be determined based on the committee’s feedback.

The director of the Faculty Center, or a delegated member of the Faculty Center Staff, will work with the committee’s chair to facilitate the entire review and selection process.

SoTL Mentor Program Description

Overview

• The SoTL Mentor Program is a one academic-year commitment. The participants will serve as leaders for SoTL at Georgia Southern for the academic year.
• While multiple investigators may participate in one project, the stipend is awarded only once per project (not per investigator), and will be awarded to only one researcher.
• Participants will be paired with a mentor. It is the participants’ responsibility to organize two mentoring meetings per semester with their mentor, a member of the SoTL leadership team or former SoTL fellow; ideally at least one of these meetings each semester will be in person. Mentor meetings are designed to support faculty as they conduct their SoTL work.
• SoTL Mentor Participants will present their research results at the SoTL Commons Conference hosted by Georgia Southern University each Spring. For more information on the conference, visit the SoTL Commons Conference website.
• Mentorship recipients are asked to develop and present a workshop on implementing insights from their SoTL research to Georgia Southern faculty and graduate student instructors in the following Academic Year; Faculty Center staff will provide support in developing the workshop.
• Mentorship recipients may be invited to join the SoTL leadership team following their tenure as mentors and to serve, as needed, as SoTL Mentors for colleagues during the next academic year.

Mentor Program Timeline

• Mentorships will be announced in the Spring semester (May) of each year and paired with a mentor at this time.
• With the support of their mentors, participants should plan to complete all project planning (i.e. develop project and obtain IRB approval, etc.) prior to the beginning of the Fall semester to allow for data collection in the Fall.
• Submit presentation proposal to SoTL Commons Conference.
• SoTL Mentor Program participants will present their research results at the SoTL Commons Conference hosted by Georgia Southern University each Spring.
• Following the submission of the final report (last day to submit: April 15), the stipend will be disbursed in May. Participants can choose to receive these funds in the form of research funds or overload pay.
• The faculty member relinquishes the stipend if the final report is not completed or if the faculty member does not fulfill his or her Mentor Program responsibilities as outlined in this document.

Deliverables

All deliverables must be received no later than April 15 of the program year in order to authorize the processing of final payment.

• Report on the research project, including a report or advanced article draft of the SoTL project research findings, plans for publication of research findings, and a brief reflection on the mentorship experience.
• Presentation of research results at the SoTL Commons conference

Last updated: 4/4/2023