Applicant Information

Who are the Dow Innovation Teacher Fellows?

Fifteen to twenty K-12 teachers from Arenac, Bay, Gratiot, Isabella, Midland, or Saginaw counties will be selected as fellows each year. Interdisciplinary teaching teams of 2-3 are strongly encouraged to apply to carry out their proposed work together. To read more about eligibility, click here.

What is the Fellowship experience?

  • Participate in 30 hours of professional development and curriculum design on project and place-based learning.

  • Connect with a community partner (e.g., a business, non-profit, government agency, neighbors, etc.) around a local sustainability challenge. Topics could include: plastic waste, circular economy, water quality, food waste/composting, climate change etc.

  • Design and implement a learning unit of at least one week in length on a sustainability problem with support from content and pedagogy experts from Dow, the University of Michigan, and Delta College.

What are the expectations of the Dow Innovation Teacher Fellowship?

  • Participate in all professional development sessions. This includes up to 18 hours of virtual asynchronous professional development over the course of 3 weeks, as well as up to 12 hours of in-person workshops and events. All in-person events will be held subject to the most up-to-date public health guidelines at the time.

For the 2022-2023 Cohort, the dates for these sessions are:

        • June 15th will be an in-person onboarding session for incoming Fellows as well as the Sharing Celebration for our 2021-2022 cohort, which incoming Fellows should plan on attending as well.

        • June 20th - July 8th is when our 3-week asynchronous virtual learning module will be in session. This course will have an expected time commitment of 5-6 hours per week.

        • August 10th & 11th will be dedicated to in-person workshops and networking events.

  • Develop, implement, and share a project and place-based instructional unit during the 2022-23 school year around a local sustainability issue. This unit can vary in length but should engage students for at least one week's worth of lessons, connect them with a local partner, engage them in spaces outside the classroom, and result in a publicly shared presentation of an action project to help address the sustainability issue.

  • Document the implementation of the unit, collect artifacts (video, photos, student work) with appropriate student consents and releases, and share with other teachers and project participants.

  • Participate in check-in meetings scheduled with University of Michigan project staff to provide updates on progress and to request support as needed.

What will Dow Innovation Teacher Fellows receive?

  • Professional development and design support from a curriculum developer to aid in the development of instructional materials

  • A stipend of $2,000. This stipend is paid in 2 installments during your Fellowship year, and is linked to Fellow completion of the professional development sessions and final reporting requirements.

  • Up to $1,000 reimbursement for project related expenses (transportation, classroom materials, etc.)

  • SCECHs for participation in professional development

  • Connection to potential local partners

  • Opportunities to showcase your students, school, and connect to your community

  • Opportunities to network with teacher colleagues in the region and community and university experts in sustainability issues

  • Access to curated online resources for sustainability education

Support for Dow Innovation Teacher Fellows will continue after their initial year. Ongoing benefits will include:

  • Access to professional development opportunities

  • Subscription to DITF Newsletter: Teaching Towards Sustainability, which highlights grant opportunities and teaching resources on a monthly basis

  • Mentorship and networking opportunities with other Fellows

  • Eligibility for additional funding to continue place-based sustainability work in your classrooms

  • Opportunities to pilot new programs and resources