KSTF Teaching Fellowships are awarded based on four selection criteria:

• Content knowledge
• Commitment to teaching
• Ability to teach
• Leadership

The following criteria and indicators, used in decision making regarding the teaching fellowships, are intended to aid applicants in preparing a competitive application.

Content Knowledge 

The teaching fellow is expected to have exceptional content knowledge in science or mathematics. By the time the fellowship is awarded, the fellow will have earned at least a bachelor's degree in a physical science or engineering (physical science fellows), biological science (biology fellows) or mathematical science (mathematics fellows). Indicators of content knowledge include, but are not limited to:

• grades in content courses
• the selection of coursework (breadth, depth and interconnectedness of knowledge)
• participation in research, including initiative to pursue knowledge beyond coursework
• an understanding of what science/mathematics is and what scientists/mathematicians do
• teaching experience in that discipline (indicating depth and flexibility of content knowledge)
• awards and honors
• ability to participate in an informed discussion, both with experts and laypersons, about science or mathematics as a discipline and the specific content that he/she plans to teach. 

Commitment to Teaching

Teaching fellows can articulate reasons for choosing high school science or mathematics teaching and have realistic ideas about the work of teachers. They have experience in working with adolescents and/or with teaching and have gained satisfaction and insight from those experiences.

• Fellows have not necessarily "always wanted to teach" but have persuasive reasons for coming to the decision to teach.
• Fellows have made efforts to understand teaching, specifically in high school classrooms, and show respect for the work of teachers.
• A lack of experience with either adolescents or teaching is not necessarily grounds for rejection; rather, the quality of an applicant's insights is weighed against his/her experience.
• They have realistic ideas about the profession, including an understanding that teaching is hard and that understandings that come easily to them may not to students.  

Ability to Teach 

Teaching fellows demonstrate mastery of written and oral communication, as evidenced in essays and in speech during phone interviews, casual conversations and in-person interviews. They possess skills critical for teaching, such as the ability to plan and be flexible, deal with failure and learn from new situations. While an applicant's experience may be limited, potential ability to teach is demonstrated by meeting a majority of these indicators, including demonstrated ability to:

• maintain balance and stay well
• relate to different kinds of people
• speak and write well
• plan and be flexible 
• reflect
• deal with and learn from challenges or failure
• transform content knowledge into forms available to students 

Leadership 

Teaching fellows show potential as leaders through previous leadership roles, including positions of accountability, demonstrated initiative and the ability to be a team player.  Fellows are well-rounded individuals who have shown commitment and achievement in a variety of endeavors. They display leadership in their manner of personal interactions, evidence of responsibility and maturity, as well as ethical and professional behavior, and show potential to become leaders in education.

• Eligibility
• Application Components
• Selection Timeline
• Begin an Online Application