Full Fellowships
Each year, the Wright Center grants full-year Fellowships,
which provide support for study and professional advancement to teachers
of grades K-12. Wright Fellowships are awarded to pre-college teachers,
based anywhere in the world, whose significant innovations in their
school's science curriculum have improved their students' understanding
of science.
Each Wright Fellow receives a stipend of $45,000 in addition to a sum of up to $500 to be used for books, equipment, travel, and science education-related software, as well as a contribution of up to $2000 toward transportation/relocation costs. Faculty and health benefits are also included. Fellows are expected to be in residence from September through July at the main Tufts University campus in Medford, MA.
Eligibility:
Applicants for the award must be full-time teachers, at the elementary, middle-school or high-school level. They should have had a minimum of five years' science teaching experience.
Collaborative Opportunities:
Fellows can take, free of charge, credit courses offered by the Tufts faculty of Arts & Sciences in mathematics, natural science, and engineering, as well as in related areas such as the history and philosophy of science. They will be introduced to the work of the neighboring Center for Science and Mathematics Teaching, the Teacher Resource Library, and the Science Visualization Laboratory. The Fellows will be encouraged to participate in the many collaborative programs of the Wright Center, including, for example, associations with the Boston Museum of Science, the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium at MIT, the Science & Technology Center at Tufts, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Tufts' Education Department, the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study, and the Governor Dummer Academy.
Duties of the Fellow:
The major activity of the Wright Fellows will be to develop further their innovative approach to science and science teaching, and to disseminate their expertise to other teachers. Most Fellows lead seminars and conduct workshops describing the innovative curricula they have developed. Each Fellow has a functional duty at the Center, amounting to about 20% of their time, well-matched to the Fellows' interests.
Applications:
Application packages must include a completed application form bearing appropriate signatures as well as the following:
- A two-page curriculum vita specifying the applicant's
teaching experience, professional activities, and formal and continuing
education.
- A five-page essay, typed and double-spaced, detailing
the science-education innovations that the applicant has introduced
to the classroom, including evidence of increased student understanding.
This should include any local, state or national contributions. Of
particular interest are activities that enhance students' conceptual
understanding, skills, and attitudes, that employ unique means to
make science interesting, and that address interdisciplinary or hands-on
science.
- A two-page proposal outlining what the applicant
aims to accomplish during the fellowship year. Include a paragraph
detailing ways that the fellowship will enhance the applicant's personal
and professional goals.
- Four letters of support from colleagues, present or former students and/or their parents, administrators, or other members of the school community.
For application forms, submission guidelines, and/or further information, contact Zach Smith at the Wright Center; 617-627-5394, or wright_center@tufts.edu (you can also view the application online.) Applications to the Wright Center must be postmarked no later than 1 February; Fellowship awards are made annually on 1 March.