The National STEM Teaching Fellowship

Engage Your Students—Transform Your Classroom 

Join a national community of college STEM instructors and gain actionable insights, expert coaching, and exclusive resources that spark student engagement. 

What You’ll Gain

Purpose

The National STEM Teaching Fellowship is a collaborative initiative that brings together higher education STEM instructors to tackle a critical question: Which teaching practices boost engagement and learning, and do so equitably, for students? 

Through this fellowship, instructors work side by side with researchers to investigate, apply, and share effective teaching practices to create more engaging learning environments.  

In recent years, a growing number of college instructors are reporting that keeping students engaged and motivated is a persistent struggle. In an effort to create more motivating and equitable classrooms, researchers from The University of Texas at Austin, Stanford University, Indiana University Bloomington, Northwestern University, University of California, Davis, and the University of the District of Columbia lay the groundwork for a new global mission: a research-practice partnership, where instructors and researchers work side-by-side to investigate, apply, and share effective teaching practices to create more engaging learning environments in STEM college courses.

The Fellowship

Fellows partner with researchers at The University of Texas at Austin to explore new ways of enhancing student motivation, belonging, and learning in STEM higher education. To begin, fellows will be given access to research-backed practices to try out in their classroom and evaluate their course materials to improve student engagement. Over the course of the semester, fellows and their students will complete two surveys at critical points of the semester. Then, fellows will receive data reports based on those survey results and discuss them in collaboration sessions with other fellows to reflect on what teaching practices are working at improving student outcomes.  

We also offer our fellows two additional optional opportunities: 1) to submit audio recordings of their instruction and 2) to submit student final grades. For fellows that opt-in to these, we provide more detailed reports. Audio recordings of your instruction help us better understand how you are delivering these instructional practices and can provide us with information that survey data may not be able to. Student final grades allow us to evaluate how, when compared to average student outcomes, the fellowship affected their outcomes in your course. While both of these are optional opportunities, we offer them so fellows may gain better insight into how they might improve student engagement in the classroom.  

Meet The Team

Project Contributers

FAQs

Who can apply? 

The fellowship is open to current higher education STEM instructors who are passionate about improving teaching and learning in their classrooms. We welcome applicants from all STEM discliplines and institutional types, including community colleges and four-year universities.  

What will fellows do during the program? 

Fellows will collaborate with education researchers and peers to explore which teaching practices improve engagement, motivation, and learning in STEM courses. During the fellowship, fellows will implement new teaching strategies, complete and give their students surveys, attend small group sessions, reflect on their instructional practices, and share feedback on which practices are proving to be effective.  

How long is the fellowship? 

The fellowship spans one academic term. This is typically to include the “long term” of a fall or spring semester that spans 16 weeks. However, we will develop specialized timelines for fellows that have shorter or quarter terms in their academic calendars.  

Is there compensation for participation? 

Yes. Fellows receive a stipend to recognize their time, effort, and valuable contributions to the research and development of evidence-based teaching practices.  

What kind of time commitment should I expect? 

The fellowship is designed to provide fellows with a rewarding experience that complements existing teaching responsibilities. Fellows should expect to commit between 2-6 hours over the course of the fellowship to participate in group discussions, implement strategies, administer surveys to students, and take surveys themselves.  

How will this benefit me as an instructor? 

Fellows gain access to a library of cutting-edge instructional practices, develop a stronger evidence-based teaching toolkit, and join a community fo like-minded educators dedicated to improving STEM education.  

When can I apply?  

Applications for the Spring 2026 fellowship cohort are now open. We encourage instructors to apply early, as space is limited. We will announce when applications for Summer and Fall 2026 are open.  

How will you protect my data? 

Data analysis will be conducted by team members who have completed appropriate training in the protection of human subjects and understand how to handle sensitive information securely. Any presentations or publications will use either aggregate data or pseudonyms/participant IDs to protect individual identities.  We will also ensure that students cannot be individually identified based on their responses.