2026-2027 Call for Faculty

Pedagogical partnerships strongly impact teaching and learning transformation. Common outcomes include increased pedagogical confidence, clarity, courage, empathy, and intentionality for faculty, and increased academic engagement, belonging, empathy, and learning self-awareness for students.

There are two possible approaches to a partnership project in this program. A student-faculty pair may:

• Engage in regular classroom observations and feedback: Equipped with CTE protocols and resources, the pair works together on improving teaching and learning practice through iterative formative dialogue, with the Student Partner regularly observing the Faculty Partner’s teaching and sharing feedback informed by their training and lived experience throughout the semester.
• Undertake a topical project on an area of interest: Supported by CTE, the pair investigates a question about teaching and learning and works together to develop, test, or refine an approach. Priority areas for project proposals include, but are not limited to:
  • Academic integrity, particularly in relation to artificial intelligence
  • Accessibility and learning spaces
  • Curriculum (re)design initiatives and department-level work
  • STEM learning

Proposals on other topics related to teaching and learning are also welcome.

Faculty Partners will commit to approximately 25-30 hours over the semester, which includes:

• Attend the January Co-creation & Partnership Retreat: All participants are expected to attend a one-day, in-person retreat on Tuesday, January 19, 2027 (10 am to 3 pm; Hotel D, East Range).
• Collaborate with a CTE Student Partner: Faculty Partners will be assigned an experienced CTE Student Partner (their CTE experience includes serving as consultants, AI guides, and accessibility advisors) and will work with them during the Spring 2027 semester to carry out the mutually agreed upon project. (Faculty are not expected to identify their own student partner(s) when applying; Student Partners in this program are undergraduates hired and trained by the CTE. While we are not supporting external student partners at this time, we hope to be able to do so in the future.)
• Attend Regular Cohort Meetings: These will be held every other week throughout the Spring 2027 semester; specific dates/times will be determined based on participants’ availability.
• Complete Program Assessments: Partners will participate in CTE assessment of the program by completing feedback surveys and reflections and responding to other assessment requests.

All full-time faculty (tenure-eligible, tenured, and general faculty) from all disciplines are eligible to apply.

This work is grounded in principles of reciprocity, reflection, and shared responsibility. Applicants should demonstrate a desire to learn with and from students in their growth as teachers, in alignment with the program’s principles and values that CTE Student Partners have co-created.

Partnerships will take place during the Spring 2027 semester, beginning with the January 19 retreat.

Faculty partners will receive $1,000 to support their work (see Detailed Responsibilities section).

Applicants should apply via the online application. Applicants will be asked to answer three short open-ended questions in approximately 200-400 words or 1-3 paragraphs each. The application will take about 20-30 minutes to complete. These length guidelines are not requirements; they are meant to provide transparency about expected workload. Shorter or longer responses will be accepted. Responses should explicitly articulate applicants’ alignment with the program's principles and values. Questions are included below to allow for preparation in advance, if desired:

1. What motivates you to apply to be part of the Deep Dialogue Partners: Co-creating Teaching & Learning program, and what do you hope to learn from working in partnership with a student? 
2. Pick one of the options below: 
   1. If you’re interested in engaging in iterative classroom observations and feedback: Which course that you will be teaching in Spring 2027 would be the focus of this activity? Please share some details about salient course characteristics and specific questions or issues that you'd like to explore in collaboration with your Student Partner.
   2. If you’d like to undertake a topical project in an area of interest: What project would you like to undertake with a Student Partner, and what questions or goals would guide it? 
3. Considering the program’s principles and values, how would you like to work with your Student Partner as a co-creator in this project, and what kind of support from the CTE and the cohort do you anticipate would be helpful?

The call for applications will remain open until Wednesday, November 4, 2026. Review will commence after the deadline. We anticipate selecting up to 5 Faculty Partners for this pilot cohort, based on alignment with the qualifications detailed above as well as disciplinary and topical spread among priority areas (see Project Opportunities). Applicants will be notified of decisions by late November 2026.

Any questions can be directed to Anna Santucci at jgg5xm@virginia.edu.