Applications Open: Fall 2024 Teacher Fellowship, "Making Connections to Global Health Stories"

From climate change to social justice, Pulitzer Center journalism cuts to the core of the world’s biggest challenges by exploring key issues that connect us all. Over the past four years, the over 100 educators who have participated in our Teacher Fellowship program have extended the impact of Pulitzer Center stories through deep classroom engagement by over 6,500 students  with reporting that deepens their critical understanding of global issues and inspires them to meet global and local challenges with curiosity, empathy, and empowered action. 

This fall, Teacher Fellows will explore the following theme:

Making Connections to Global Health Stories

As part of this paid, virtual Fellowship, a cohort of up to 14 educators will explore global health stories over the course of six workshops in a community with other passionate Fellows, award-winning journalists and the Pulitzer Center education team. They will analyze how news stories engage students in critical analysis of several global health topics, guide students in making local connections, and explore paths for students to apply their learning to address health issues in their own communities. Ultimately, educators will design a rigorous learning experience that centers at least one news story and culminates in an activity exemplifying empowered action. Participants will share the results of this learning experience by publishing a narrative blog post or lesson plan capturing student learning, engagement, and empowered action.

Click here to apply! Applications are due Sunday, September 8, 2024

Upon successful completion of the program, Fellows will be provided with …

• $600 stipend (made in two payments of $300 disbursed in November 2024 and January 2025)
• Pulitzer Center Teacher Fellow digital badge
• Certificate for 30 professional learning units (PLUs)

If you have questions after reading the eligibility requirements and Fellowship details below, please reach out to us at [email protected].

The Pulitzer Center is committed to making real, measurable progress on diversity, equity, and inclusion in all of our programs and partnerships. Please review our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion statement for more information on our commitments. Educators from historically marginalized backgrounds, and/or educators who are teaching students from historically marginalized backgrounds, are strongly encouraged to apply.

Eligibility Requirements:

This Fellowship is open to all classroom teachers (grades four–12) working in public, charter, independent, and alternative schools in the United States and U.S. territories. Educators working with adults and youth in jails, prisons, or youth detention facilities are also encouraged to apply. Applicants must be currently teaching virtually or in person, and plan to continue teaching in their current school at least through the end of the 2024–2025 school year. 

Because all sessions will be held virtually, applicants must have stable internet access and a computer with a webcam and microphone.

Fellowship Description:

Through text analysis, group discussion, and engagements with journalists, Fellows will practice applying a media literacy lens to global health news stories on a range of topics, including the health impacts of pollution and extreme weather events, vaccine access, maternal health, disparities in health care access, gender equality, and health research and innovation. Fellows will connect with journalists who cover global health topics through a myriad of storytelling methods, including print, video, photography, and data. Participants will strengthen the skills to ask critical questions and make informed connections between local and global issues. They will also evaluate how news stories can inspire broader classroom discussions about health.

Guiding questions:

1. How do individual health outcomes reflect the impact of larger systemic issues (i.e. ,climate change, migration, human rights) in communities?
2. How do systemic health issues connect  to challenges faced by students and their communities?
3. Why is it important to bring discussions about health to our classrooms? How can critical analysis of news stories support those discussions and equip students to take action?

Teachers will design a short learning experience (one-three class periods) that centers at least one global health topic and culminates in an activity exemplifying empowered action. Teachers will be responsible for documenting student learning in a narrative blog or a lesson plan with embedded student examples.

Fellowship Requirements:

Fellows will participate in a virtual orientation on Saturday, October 5, 2024, and join five weekly evening sessions from October 2024 through November 2024. Each evening session will be two hours long and three will feature discussions with experienced journalists covering global health topics. Other sessions will focus on strategies and resources to engage students, lesson brainstorming and development, and opportunities for peer feedback. All sessions will be held live via Zoom.

With the support of the Pulitzer Center education team, all Fellows will …

1. Create a lesson plan centering a global health news story from the Pulitzer Center website 
2. Facilitate their lesson with students in November 2024
3. Document and share their experience by writing a narrative account or sharing a lesson plan that captures students’ instructional journey. The blog post/lesson plan can include teaching materials, evaluation materials, student quotes, and images/videos that capture student engagement. 

Fellows’ work will be shared on the Pulitzer Center website. Fellows may also have the opportunity to participate in professional development webinars and/or conference presentations.

The Fellowship will launch on Saturday, October 5, 2024, and conclude on Wednesday, December 9, 2024. 

While the exact amount of time spent by each Fellow will depend on his or her classes and projects, we anticipate the Fellowship time commitment to be about 30 hours. This includes participation in virtual workshops, project design, implementation, and evaluation.

Key Dates:

• Saturday, October 5, 2024, 11:30 am-4:30pm ET
• Wednesday,  October 9, 2024, 6:00-8:00pm ET
• Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 6:00-8:00pm ET
• Wednesday, October 23, 2024, 6:00-8:00pm ET
• Wednesday, October 30, 2024, 6:00-8:00pm ET
• Wednesday, November 6, 2024, 6:00-8:00pm ET
• Implementation of lesson plan:  November 6 -December 6, 2024 
• Closing: Wednesday, December 11, 2024, 6:00-8:00pm ET

Deliverables and Fellowship Payments:

• Week of November 25, 2024: Process first payment of $300 upon completion of first six workshops
• Monday, December 9, 2024: Final deliverables due
• Week of December 16, 2024: Process second payment of $300 upon review of lesson plan or blog post
   

If you have additional questions, please contact us by emailing [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you!

Learn more about past Teacher Fellows and their work here.