National Teaching Fellowships: Five Winning Tips for that Application

Over the years I have had the joy of coaching many successful National Teaching Fellow (NTF) applicants.  More than half of them were women. Without exception, they all began their applications by underplaying their achievements.  

My biggest challenge?  As you might guess, it was to convince them that their work was more than ordinary – it was extra-ordinary.  

The rest was easy.

How do you overcome a tendency to underestimate your strengths?  

What do you need to do to make that application sing?

The short answer is - you need to find your voice, your purpose and your message.

And here’s how.  

These are my top five tips for creating that outstanding application. 

#Number One: Prep, prep and prep again

Let’s start with the obvious.  I know you know this but it bears repeating.  Prep, prep and prep again. Begin by familiarising yourself with the guidance and criteria.   Then find out who is your institutional contact for the awards – note that from this year these colleagues are called Teaching Excellence Awards Lead (TEAL).  Ask them about the selection process and enlist the support available.  

You have now made the most important step of all – the first one.  

#Number Two: Find your voice and your critical friend

This next part is where it gets tougher for most people.  This is where you are beginning to find your voice – that unique you that is passionate about teaching and learning.   It is where you need to start writing about yourself and your work.  

At this point, everything can feel as if it is all too daunting.  Your inner critic is likely to rear their head and tell you you aren’t good enough.  You may feel a sense of imposterism.  Or you simply don’t know where to begin.

The important thing is just to put pen to paper - or hand to computer – and start writing. What you write at this stage doesn’t have to be in joined-up sentences.  It can be very jumbled.  It is all about getting those thoughts out of your head and into a document.

You can do this initially by taking specific topics and just write down your thoughts.

• What are your values? 

• What drives you? 

• What is the difference you are trying to achieve?

• What change or transformation have you enabled?  

• What wider communities of practice and networks beyond your institution are you involved in?

• Make a list of what you have done and why - link this to local, national, and if possible international impact.

Once you have a very rough first draft – and I can’t say this strongly enough – a very rough first draft  - find a critical friend who is familiar with the scheme and the criteria.  Ask them to push you outside of your comfort zone or to ask you annoying questions to help you unpick your narrative.  Give them permission to be tough on you.

Your critical friend can help you articulate what is unique about you and your work. Because they are external to your sense of your own experiences, they will be able to see the patterns that draw your story together.  

They will also be your cheerleader as well as your guide.

# Number Three: Show the impact of your purpose

Your claim is all about transformational impact. This is the part where you are really focussing on what has been driving your work – the reason why you do what you do.  Your purpose.   What impact has it had?  What difference has it made?  

You cannot just describe your practice. For every ‘what’ reviewers will be looking for a ‘so what?’.   You need to be thinking ‘I made a difference through doing X and here is the evidence of its effect …’.

It is at this point you have to overcome any natural reticence of asking colleagues or those you have worked with for those short incisive quotes that support your claim.  Most of us are actually delighted to be asked and want to support you.  Hold on to that thought.

It is also important to note that the evidence needed for Criteria One and Two is slightly different from Criterion Three.  

For Criteria One and Two: 

• Use a mix of quantitative and qualitative data to demonstrate how your work has achieved impact.

• Include evidence in the form of quotes, statistics and references. 

• Aim for a range of testimonial and data - include students, alumni, institutional and external peers who have benefitted from your ideas / initiatives in L&T.

• Even better if you can call on other NTFs for testimonials - they are listed on the AdvanceHE website so worth checking if you know any of them!

• If you can, show the reach of your work beyond academia - examples of outreach, public engagement, and so on.  If you have not already received valuable feedback from external colleagues or organisations, do not be afraid of asking for a short endorsement.

For Criteria Three:

This section is about reflection and intentionality.  This can actually trip many people up.  This is all about you and what you have done to support your own development and the impact this has had on your practice.  But it is also about how those changes in your practise have impacted on others. 

So – remember to close the loop by showing the transformative and positive impact of your own learning.

Think about: 

-       a learning experience you had – it can be an event, feedback you received, a book you read – that made you reflect on a problem and caused you to make changes in your practice

-       Now complete these phrases -  ‘this resulted in …’ or ‘the outcome was…’

-       Again, ask for testimonials/quotes or gather data that demonstrate how those changes impacted on others.  This is your evidence of success and can really strengthen your claim. 

#Number Four: Hone your message.  

Get out your red pen!  This is the stage where you draft, draft and draft again.  You will also be editing, editing and editing.  In fact you may get so fed up with the several rewrites that you will begin to wonder if it is at all worth it.  I promise you it is!

You will need to be fairly hard on yourself here.  It is far better to have a small number of ‘wow’ examples than a large number of ‘so whats?’ 

 • Once you have marshalled your evidence and you have a sense of a developing voice, start mapping your narrative to the three criteria and consider what fits where.  

• Remember - the three sections all have equal weighting in the marking process so all three need to be strong and of similar-ish length. 

• You are not writing an academic paper but there is a need to show that you are tuned into the educational literature and how it influences your thinking by incorporating relevant references.

• Finish each section with a short summary statement or a strong quote that pulls it all together.

#Number Five: Believe in yourself – you can absolutely do this! 

 There is no doubt that putting together a submission for a National Teaching Award can be a challenging experience.  It takes time and commitment and it is on top of all the other commitments you already have that make your life so demanding.  

I guarantee though - crafting the narrative is in itself a wonderfully rewarding experience which will help you appreciate your own successes.  At the end of it you will have developed your voice and your sense of purpose and you will have enhanced your skills in getting your message across.

I say this because I achieved my NTF this year.  I learnt so much about myself and the direction I want to take my work simply by going through the process.  Being successful was the cherry on the cake.

Believe in yourself – I know you can absolutely do this!

Letizia Gramaglia

National Teaching Fellow

About Letizia Gramaglia

Letizia Gramaglia is Head of Academic Development & Director of the Warwick International Higher Education Academy (WIHEA) at the University of Warwick.  She is also a Women-Space Associate.  You can read more about her here.