Join the Iconic Michigan Teacher Fellowship

Join a professional learning community and get paid!

Applications for this fellowship are now closed.

Build community with other 6th – 12th grade teachers across Michigan this year and bring media literacy, storytelling, and critical creativity into your classroom with PBS and the Michigan Learning Channel. 

The Iconic Michigan Teacher Fellowship is a paid opportunity for middle and high school educators across Michigan to learn from and use content from the PBS series Iconic America, be a part of developing new content based on your teaching experiences, and support student-led learning as they incorporate learning into community storytelling and media production projects. 

The goals of this fellowship are to build community and capacity among Michigan teachers who care about innovative and media-driven teaching and learning. You do not need any experience working with or creating media to apply! 

What We're looking For

  • Teacher fellows will be creative, innovative, and energetic educators who enjoy thinking outside of the box, centering student voice, and bringing their local community into their classroom
  • Teacher fellows will care about and be inspired by values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in their work to uplift student voice and uncover community stories
  • Teacher fellows will be curious and ready to learn and implement new strategies and technologies for project-based learning in their classrooms
  • Teacher fellows will be excited to integrate media literacy and media making into their instruction, even (and especially!) if they have no media experience

What You'll Get

  • A $500 stipend
  • $500 worth of media making equipment for your classroom
  • One paid trip to a Michigan PBS station
  • A community of like-minded, innovative, and creative educators from across the state
  • Resources for teaching PBS’s Iconic America
  • Resources for bringing media making and documentary production into your classroom
  • Professional learning and workshop time with experts and media professionals
  • Ongoing office hours with a certified educator and media professional
  • Opportunities to publish educational content and be featured in programming across PBS platforms
  • Opportunities to apply for SCECHs

What You'll Do

  • Participate in a virtual professional learning and community building meetup for two hours each month from October 2023 – May 2024
  • Share Iconic America content in your classroom (clips and lesson plans are available for a variety of content areas - see below for more information)
  • Provide feedback on existing Iconic America content and collaborate with other educators to create new content for publication on PBS LearningMedia
  • Join us for a free one-day field trip to a Michigan PBS station
  • Implement a digital storytelling project in your classroom that utilizes provided media toolkits and personal handheld devices (student-owned cell phones or district-provided mobile devices)
  • Provide feedback along the way to help us build a sustainable model for teacher community in Michigan

Still deciding? Preview some of the content below:
– Iconic America on PBS LearningMedia
– Iconic Michigan on the Michigan Learning Channel

If you have any questions, email Michgian Learning Channel Program Director Matt Hamilton (mhamilton@dptv.org) to discuss if this opportunity is a good fit for you.