Eden Fellowships (SoTL) 2021-22
Call for applications
A unique opportunity to conduct research on discipline-specific approaches to teaching and build your profile as a pedagogic scholar and education expert in your field or discipline. The application deadline is 15 November 2021.
The LSE Higher Education Blog in partnership with the Eden Centre for Education Enhancement will be bringing out a special issue, Conversations in the Disciplines: From Pedagogy to Practice, in Autumn 2022. The special issue will comprise a series of eight interviews on contemporary discipline-specific approaches to teaching conducted by LSE academics. This will be published as a special issue on the LSE HE Blog and/or other publication outlets. This special issue will be led by the special issue editorial team that comprises the editor of the LSE HE Blog, Lee-Ann Sequeira, and the co-editor of the issue, Sanchayan Banerjee.
What is the Eden Fellowship (SoTL)?
We are looking to award eight Eden Fellowships in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) to LSE academics to conduct these interviews and contribute to this special issue. The fellowship carries a pay award of £600. All Fellows will also receive hands-on training and support to enable them to conduct, write up, and submit their interviews.
The fellowship can be undertaken flexibly to suit the schedule of the Eden Fellow in the 2021-22 academic year. The submission deadlines for the final approved draft of the interview will be negotiated on an individual basis, but should fall before 9 May 2022.
What will the Eden Fellow (SoTL) do?
The Eden Fellow (SoTL) will interview a non-LSE academic who is an expert in their field and who is engaged in innovative education practice. The interview will explore themes around the non-LSE academic’s teaching practice, curriculum design, pedagogy, and education philosophy. The finished product will become part of a compendium of contemporary discipline-specific approaches to teaching and pedagogy in the form of conversations between disciplinary colleagues and practitioners.
The Eden Fellow (SoTL) will engage in the following activities:
- Research the teaching practice of the interviewee and related literature
- Arrange and conduct the interview
- Write up the interview (approx.. 5,000 words)
- Participate in training and development, if and where needed
In addition, the Fellow should correspond with the special issue editorial team to update them of developments on their interview and subsequently in the write-up phase.
What support can the Eden Fellow (SoTL) expect?
To facilitate the process, the editorial team will provide optional training sessions in identifying a suitable interviewee, structuring interview questions, interview skills, and developing your writing style. The editorial team will also recommend educational literature and offer feedback on drafts, etc. While there are similarities with submitting a paper to an academic journal, it is important to bear in mind that there are important differences in terms of content, audience, tone, structure, and format. In keeping with the editorial style of the LSE HE Blog, the interview would adopt a hybrid academic-journalistic tone. A couple of examples of the interviews we have in mind are these interviews in anthropology and economics.
Who can apply for an Eden Fellowship (SoTL)?
The ideal Eden Fellow (SoTL):
- will be an early- or mid-career academic at the LSE (eg. GTAs, guest teachers, LSE Fellows or equivalent, assistant/associate professors or equivalent, ECT academics)
- is passionate about education in their discipline or field
- has knowledge of pedagogy, curriculum design, and practice in higher education
- has experience/ability writing for non-specialist audiences
Why apply for an Eden Fellowship (SoTL)?
While the fellowship calls for time, commitment, and effort; it offers significant benefits to the successful candidate:
- Publication in a high-quality academic blog and/or other medium (eg. edited book)
- Enhanced profile as a pedagogic scholar and expert in your discipline
- Part of a community of practice or network of authors with a shared interest in pedagogic scholarship
- Training and guidance in developing an engaging writing style
- Fellowship award of £600
How to apply?
We welcome applications for this fellowship from academics across all disciplines and fields including pure, interdisciplinary, and applied fields; those who teach on courses that use quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods; and at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Joint applications (i.e. co-conducted/co-authored interviews) are welcome, but the award amount and resources would stay the same. To apply, please provide:
- your CV (including any writing, interviewing, editorial experience)
- two recent samples of your writing that best indicate your suitability for this special issue
- a brief initial proposal of your interview (up to 300 words). Your initial proposal should include:
– The name of a prospective interviewee and reasons for selection
– Three-four interview questions for illustrative purposes
– Value for the reader (audience comprises academics and educators from the field and outside)
– Two challenges you might encounter
- a prospective submission deadline
Please send these four items and your deadline preference to lseheblog@lse.ac.uk by Monday, 15 November 2021.
If you would like to discuss this fellowship in greater detail, please contact Lee-Ann Sequeira or Sanchayan Banerjee. We will also be holding an information session on 10 November, 12 pm GMT, where we will provide more detail about the special issue, the Fellow’s role, and the application process, and also answer any questions you have.
