Applications Open: 2023-2024 Pulitzer Center Teacher Fellowship 'Asking Critical Questions'

Students today are confronted with a complex media ecosystem and a host of pressing global issues that can be overwhelming to navigate.

As part of this paid, virtual program, a cohort of up to 16 educators will explore this challenge over the course of the school year in a community with other passionate Fellows, award-winning journalists, and the Pulitzer Center Education team. Ultimately, educators will craft and implement units that help students better understand global issues, practice critical thinking skills, cultivate empathy and belonging, and take informed action.

This year’s cohort will explore the following theme:

Asking Critical Questions: Teaching Global Stories and Media Literacy

In the fall semester, Fellows will participate in eight evening workshops to explore underreported news stories and connect with Pulitzer Center-supported journalists. As part of these workshops, teachers will also develop short units (three to five class periods) that support students in developing curiosity about underreported local and global issues, practicing media literacy skills, building empathy, and taking informed action.

In the spring semester, Fellows will implement their short units, evaluate student outcomes, and share their projects publicly through the Pulitzer Center’s online lesson library and virtual professional development programs. 

Applications are due Sunday, September 24, 2023

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

• $1,200 stipend (made in three payments of $400 disbursed in December 2023,  February 2024, and May 2024)

• Pulitzer Center Teacher Fellow digital badge

• Certificate for 35 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 2023–2024 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 news stories on a range of interconnected global issues like climate change, artificial intelligence, global health, migration, and others. Fellows will connect with journalists who cover these issues 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 news.

Ultimately, teachers will design standards-aligned unit plans that guide students in analyzing global issues, support students in cultivating empathy by centering underreported stories, and empower students to share their learning and take action.

Fellowship Requirements:

Fellows will participate in a virtual orientation on Saturday, October 28, and join eight weekly evening sessions from October 2023 through January 2023. Each evening session will be two hours long. The first five sessions will include seminars with award-winning journalists, and exploration and evaluation of underreported news stories on a variety of systemic issues. The remaining three sessions will focus on strategies and resources to engage students, unit brainstorming and development, and opportunities for peer feedback on unit drafts. All sessions will be held live via Zoom.

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

1. Write and revise a short unit (three to five lessons) with detailed lesson plans related to the Fellowship theme. See examples from the 2022-2023 cohort here.

2. Facilitate their unit with students during the spring 2023 semester (ideally between February 1 and May 2, 2024)

3. Evaluate their students’ work and provide documentation of their project in the form of student exemplars, lesson plans, teaching materials, evaluation materials, a short blog capturing key takeaways from their experience teaching the unit, and/or images and video.

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

The Fellowship will launch on Saturday, October 28, 2023, and conclude on Saturday June 3, 2024. While the exact amount of time spent by each Fellow will depend on their classes and projects, we anticipate the Fellowship time commitment to be approximately 75 hours. This includes participation in virtual workshops, project design, implementation, and evaluation.

Key Dates:

Part 1: Exploring Underreported News Stories and Media Literacy Skills

• Saturday, October 28, 11:30am-4:30pm EDT

• Wednesday, November 1, 6:00-8:00pm EDT

• Wednesday, November 8, 6:00-8:00pm EST

• Wednesday, November 15, 6:00-8:00pm EST

*Break for the Thanksgiving holiday

• Wednesday, November 29, 6:00-8:00pm EST

• Wednesday, December 6, 6:00-8:00pm EST

Part 2: Crafting and Revising Units

• Wednesday, December 13, 6:00-8:00pm EST

• Wednesday, December 20, 6:00-8:00pm EST - OPTIONAL WORKSHOP SESSION

Optional 1-on-1 meetings with Center staff the week of December 20, 2023

• Wednesday, January 10, 6:00-8:00pm EST

• Wednesday, January 17th, 6:00-8:00pm EST

Optional 1-on-1 meetings with Center staff the week of January 22nd to prepare for unit submission on Monday, January 29, 2024

Part 3: Unit Instruction and Fellowship Closing

• Monday, January 29 - Friday, May 3: Teaching units/Virtual classroom visits with Pulitzer Center journalists

• Saturday, June 1, 1:00-3:00pm EST: Virtual celebration / sharing

Deliverables and Fellowship Payments:

• Week of December 30, 2023: Process first payment of $400 upon completion of first five workshops

• Monday, January 29, 2024: Unit Plan Due 

• Week of February 12, 2024: Process second payment of $400 upon review of unit plan

• Friday, May 3, 2024: Teaching materials and student work due  

• Week of May 27: Third payment of $400 upon review of teaching materials and student work

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.