Dilshad NoorAli, English Language faculty at the Aga Khan University (AKU), shares her experience of achieving Fellowship through TEACH, the Advance HE accredited Fellowship scheme at AKU.

How would you feel reading an email that says..? 

your fellowship application has been approved as a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). You are now included in the pool of some 178 AKU and IIS Fellows and 200,000+ Fellows across the globe and are entitled to use the post-nominal letters (FHEA) as a recognized qualification of your professional practice in teaching in higher education. 

I felt out of this world! Far beyond a mere academic pursuit, this Fellowship proved to be instrumental in my personal and professional growth, sharpening my abilities and expanding my worldview of academics, so here I am sharing my experience. 

A new intellectual dawn  

I always took pride whenever my students enjoyed my teaching, yet their enthusiasm remained a mystery to me.  

It is the Fellowship process that revealed the “why,” profoundly shaping my development into a reflective practitioner. Earlier, I operated with a certain degree of automatic proficiency. The Fellowship provided  me with the arena for intense dialogue with myself, with my colleagues and with the literature, and immersed me into inquiries where I asked myself questions, such as “What was my reasoning for choosing this method?”, “What underlying beliefs were guiding me?” and “In what alternative ways would I have tackled the challenge?”  

I adore Deepak Chopra’s quote: 

“There lies a space between action and reaction, 

In this space lies your freedom to choose, 

and in these choices, 

lies your freedom and happiness.” 

Here, the ACTION is teaching, and REACTION is evaluation, between this lies a SPACE.  

If in this space you reflect on your teaching and make change for the next lesson, you will have freedom and happiness because this will help you  grow as you travel through your pedagogic journey confidently. For instance, I recall implementing  a new teaching approach that I had learnt, but my initial lesson proved to be not as effective. Generally, I would have quickly moved to another familiar strategy. However, Fellowship instilled in me a different impulse to pause and  to analyse, dissect my assumptions, examining the data again, and seeking diverse perspectives. 

This deliberate, methodical reflection, rather than a frantic search for a quick fix, ultimately led to a better understanding, so I planned the lesson again, making continuous effort, re-evaluated it, and I can use it confidently in my class now. 

Designing a teaching dossier and writing a teacher philosophy 

The inexplicable process of designing a teaching dossier was genuine fun. Think of it less as a dry compilation of data, and more as crafting a compelling narrative of your pedagogical journey.  

The initial stage, which might seem like a mere gathering of materials, is actually where the real excitement begins. It’s like you suddenly become a museum manager curating the artefacts of your museum. It is like having an archaeological dig into your teaching past. You unearth old documents, long-forgotten assignment prompts, student feedback forms filled with scribbled notes, and even those slight cringeworthy early teaching philosophies, I once held.  

Each artefact is a clue, a piece of a larger puzzle. You start to see patterns emerge; evolution unfold. “Ah, so that’s why I stopped using group presentations that year!” or “Look how much my understanding of active learning has changed since then.” 

This isn’t just data collection; it’s a reconnection with your teaching self, a chance to remember the enthusiasm of your first lecture and the breakthroughs of your most challenging classes. 

Experiencing the art of curating and crafting 

Once you’ve unearthed your treasures, the real design work begins.  A teaching dossier isn’t just a binder full of documents; it’s a curated exhibition of your teaching philosophy and practice. You get to decide what to highlight, what story to tell, and how to present it. This involves choices about organization, visual appeal and the strategic placement of evidence. 

Should I use a striking quote from a student at the beginning of each section? How can I visually represent the growth of my courses over time? This act of curation is deeply satisfying, as you shape disparate elements into a cohesive and impactful whole.  

Every single one of these artifacts is a clue, a vital piece of a larger, evolving puzzle. As you sort through them, you start to notice patterns emerging and your own evolution unfolding. You might find yourself having “aha!” moments, like realizing, “Oh, so that’s why I stopped using group presentations that year!” or observing, “Wow, look how much my understanding of active learning has changed since then.” 

This process isn’t just about collecting data; it’s a reconnection with your teaching self. It’s a precious opportunity to recall the pure enthusiasm of your very first lecture, the rewarding breakthroughs in your most challenging classes, and the journey you’ve embarked on as an educator. It’s about seeing the threads that connect your past experiences to your present teaching identity. 

The power of writing your teaching philosophy  

Then comes the writing – often the most dreaded part, but also potentially the most rewarding. This is your chance to articulate your teaching philosophy, not as a generic statement, but as a living document informed by your experiences. You get to analyze your pedagogical choices, explain the “why” behind your “what,” and connect your methods to student learning outcomes.  

It’s an opportunity for deep metacognition, where you’re not just writing about teaching, but thinking about how you think about teaching. It forces you to clarify your beliefs, identify your core values and pinpoint the principles that guide your classroom. And when you manage to express a complex pedagogical idea in a clear, concise and compelling way, there’s a genuine thrill to it.  

What next? The ongoing journey  

Fellowship via TEACH at AKU didn’t just teach me how to do things; it taught me how to think about doing things. It instilled in me a lifelong commitment to continuous learning, self-assessment and the relentless pursuit of improvement.  

I am now a reflective practitioner, not because I have all the answers, but because I have cultivated the capacity to ask better questions of myself, my work and the world around me. 

This journey of reflection is ongoing, a continuous cycle of experience, analysis and adaptation, and it is a gift that my Fellowship truly bestowed upon me. 

Dilshad NoorAli is currently working at the Aga Khan University as a faculty member teaching English in the graduate and undergraduate programmes at SONAM, P. She has achieved Advance HE Fellowship and a Best Teacher Award.