Engineering Learning Fellows Program
Overview
Are you a faculty member looking to enhance your teaching practice and contribute to a culture of transformative teaching and learning at Mines? The Trefny Engineering Learning Fellows Program (EL Fellows / ELF Program) is a yearlong, application-based program designed to support you in developing effective and innovative pedagogical practices. Throughout the program, EL Fellows work their way through the Engineering Learning framework together with their colleagues and mentors (Engineering Learning Mentorship (ELM) Fellows) to develop a teaching portfolio that demonstrates excellence, reflection, and growth in teaching. This portfolio includes refined course materials, a targeted teaching innovation, a collection of student feedback showcasing teaching excellence, an Early Course Feedback report from Trefny staff, and reflections which speak to your unique pedagogical values and strengths. The ELF program offers a variety of learning pathways, including two retreats, mentor group meetings, observations from peers and student consultants, observations from peers and student consultants, asynchronous experiences, and ongoing support from Trefny staff. Upon successful completion of the program, you will also receive a certificate that you can include in future promotion and professional portfolios!
Eligibility
All full-time faculty are welcome to apply for the ELF Program. We typically recommend this program for faculty looking to develop their teaching practice, design a new course, or set a path toward meeting Mines’ promotion and tenure expectations. If you are looking to further your leadership and mentorship at Mines, we recommend exploring the Engineering Learning Mentorship (ELM) Fellowship to determine which opportunity feels right for you. Because EL Fellows are encouraged to implement a new teaching intervention in their course, we ask that prospective applicants plan to teach at least one course during the Spring term of their fellowship year.
Compensation
EL Fellows receive a stipend of $3000 throughout the year of their fellowship. Upon successful completion of the program, EL Fellows also receive a certificate that they can include in future promotion and professional portfolios.
Outcomes
By participating in the ELF Program, you will…
Implement an evidence-based teaching innovation that incorporates the characteristics of effective teaching.
Justify pedagogical approaches by aligning instructional materials and practices with frameworks for effective teaching.
Apply feedback from students and peers to improve teaching effectiveness.
Synthesize personal approaches to teaching, evidence-based practices, feedback received, and experiences from the EL Fellowship into written narratives for inclusion in professional portfolios.
Curate a teaching portfolio that demonstrates professional reflection, growth, and innovation in teaching and learning.
Contribute to a community of mentors, students, and faculty peers to strengthen the culture of teaching and learning at Mines.
Time Commitment
EL Fellows are asked to dedicate approximately 20 hours per term to the program, comprising:
Synchronous and Community Experiences
- Attend and participate in our Fall and Spring EL Fellows Retreats.
- Attend monthly mentor group meetings with your ELM Fellow to develop and refine your portfolio materials.
- Receive at least one Early Course Feedback session with a Trefny Faculty Developer.
- Receive at least one peer observation to be conducted by your ELM Fellow.
- Receive at least one student observation to be conducted by a student consultant.
- Present your teaching innovation at our End of the Year Celebration.
- [Optional] Conduct/receive additional observations for/from your peers and ELM Fellow.
Asynchronous Development
- Complete asynchronous tasks prior to mentor group meetings.
- Draft and revise portfolio materials (course materials, teaching innovations, and written statements).
Deliverables
Over the course of your fellowship year, you will develop a reflective teaching portfolio that includes the following components:
Annotated Course Artifacts…
paired with narrative justifications that explicitly links teaching practices to the Effective Teaching framework and relevant promotion and tenure criteria.
A personal Teaching Philosophy…
that reflects your unique perspectives, experiences, values, and skills as they relate to teaching and learning.
A Teaching Innovation Presentation…
that describes a new teaching approach or intervention developed over the course of the fellowship year. This presentation will include reflections as to why you pursued this intervention, how you went about implementing the approach, and student feedback which speaks to the impact of your teaching change.
A Teaching Feedback Dossier…
that includes student and peer feedback from the following sources:
- One Early Course Feedback Report, to be conducted by a Trefny Faculty Developer.
- One Classroom Observation, to be conducted by your ELM Fellow.
- One Student Observation, to be conducted by a student consultant.
- *[Optional] One Peer Observation, to be conducted by a fellow EL Fellow.
*Completing a peer observation during the ELF program also satisfies requirements for the peer observation program.
[Optional] Additional teaching highlights, course materials, and student / peer and mentor feedback which speak to excellence in teaching and learning.
Application
All full-time academic faculty at Mines who have not yet received an EL Fellowship are eligible to apply. The application consists of a series of short responses, as well as submission of an updated CV. Applications are due Friday, May 15th, 2026. Fellows will be notified in early June.
If you have additional questions about the ELF Program, please reach out to cartermoulton@mines.edu.