Pedagogy Fellow Initiative

The University of Louisville and the Composition Program in particular offer many professional development opportunities for instructors to improve their pedagogy. To better incentivize participation in these pedagogy workshops and make visible the often-invisible work of professional development, the Comp Team has develop a new Pedagogy Fellow Initiative.

Participation in pedagogy workshops is always a component of instructors’ annual evaluations that are kept on file in the Composition Office. Additionally, instructors may attend any pedagogy-related professional development opportunities on campus to receive either of the following incentives.

Course Scheduling Preferences

Instructors who attend at least 1 pedagogy workshop will granted greater priority (within their teaching tier) for scheduling preferences the next semester. For example, a first-year graduate teaching assistant who completes 2 pedagogy workshops in one semester will be assigned courses before the other first-year graduate teaching assistants who didn’t complete any.

Pedagogy Fellow Certificate

Instructors who attend 4 pedagogy workshops within a year and submit a 1-2 pages (or about 750 words) reflection on specific ways those workshops have (or haven’t) impacted their teaching will be considered Pedagogy Fellows for that year and will receive a certificate signed by the Director Composition to document this accomplishment.

The Composition Program will keep a sign-in sheet for any pedagogy workshops offered within the department. If you are attending any workshops outside the department, please contact an Assistant Director of Composition (ADC) ( e-mail addresses located at  Contact) for information on how to verify attendance. Please also contact an ADC if you are unsure whether a professional development opportunity counts as pedagogy training.

Please note: Institutes or academies related to teaching (e.g. GTA Academy or Delphi U), while highly encouraged, are not included in this initiative. If you’d like to be considered for an exception, please contact an ADC.

You can search for relevant professional development opportunities at any of the following links:

Contact an ADC with any further questions, comments, or concerns.

Interested in hosting your own Pedagogy Workshop?

Yes, it counts toward the certificate! Please email the following information to one of the Assistant Directors of Composition (e-mail addresses located at Contact).

  • Workshop Title
  • 300-word (max) abstract describing the workshop, including:
    • Topic/activities
    • Why this is a needed workshop
    • What practical takeaways participants get

Successful workshop proposals will have both theoretical and (especially) practical components that can tangibly improve instructors’ teaching.