The Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning

Junior Faculty Teaching Fellows

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Junior Faculty Teaching Fellows

The Sheridan Junior Faculty Teaching Fellows program is a yearlong, interdisciplinary learning community that invites a select group of junior faculty to engage in collaborative support, growth, and pedagogical development. The is based around a supportive peer cohort, providing a dedicated space to discuss the complexities of teaching and learning alongside fellow early-career colleagues and Sheridan staff.

In the program, Fellows participate in seven seminar meetings focused on essential topics in higher ed pedagogy, including equitable course design, student engagement, Generative AI in teaching and learning, and evidence-based assessment. We also use portions of our seminars to share and collaboratively problem-solve our teaching challenges. Additionally, Fellows participate in peer teaching observations and reflections each semester of the program, observing another and being observed in their teaching. Finally, once during the course of the program participants also feedback on their teaching through a course observation or early student feedback session and one-on-one consultation with Sheridan staff.

Fellows are recognized annually at the University Teaching Awards Ceremony and receive a $500 research award upon successful completion of the program. Applications are due by Wednesday ,September 2, 2026.

Junior Faculty Teaching Fellows Application form

Program Eligibility

In order to be eligible for the program, participants must be:

  1. Lecturers or Assistant Professors who regularly teach as part of their job duties. We prioritize applications from instructors in their first three years of teaching at Brown. Postdocs are not eligible for the program.
  2. In-residence at Brown for the whole 2026-2027 academic year and teaching at least one course during the fall 2026 or the spring 2027 semester. Due to the peer-observation component of the program, we aren’t able to accept instructors who aren’t teaching during the academic year.
  3. Able to meet all of the program requirements & attend meetings on the dates listed below.

 

Program Requirements

  1. Attendance at all seminars (dates listed below). The program will be held in-person in the Sheridan Center (201 Thayer Street). Fellows are expected to participate in-person, but we can accommodate occasional virtual participation or one absence during the program for research travel, conferences, illness, etc.
  2. Participating fully in peer observations: conducting two observations of other Fellows and being observed by a Fellow twice during the program. Observations include pre- and post-observation meetings and short write-ups.
  3. Engaging with the Sheridan Center through Early Student Feedback or a Course Observation once during the program

Program Dates

All of the following meetings will take place in the Sciences library from 3-4:30 PM.

Fall 2026

Wednesday, September 16th
Wednesday, October  7th
Wednesday, November 4th
Wednesday, December 2nd

Spring 2027

Wednesday, February 3rd
Wednesday, March 3rd
Wednesday, April 7th
 

University Teaching Awards (TBD). These are usually the last week in April and attendance at the ceremony is optional, but highly encouraged

Current Fellows

2025-26

  • Serena Booth (Computer Science)
  • James W. Dottin (Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences)
  • Maria Gonzalez-Ferrer (Hispanic Studies)
  • Ivan Kwok (Economics)
  • Peter J. Lipman (School of Public Health)
  • Jana Mokrišová (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World)
  • Nicole Pangborn (Watson School)
  • Han Zhang (Sociology)

Past Fellows