Awards to the U.S.

Distinguished Award in Teaching Program for International Teachers (DAI)

Description and Purpose

The Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching (DAI) Program provides funding for highly accomplished Taiwan primary and secondary educators to take part in an intensive professional development program for 5 months in the United States. International participants gather at a single U.S. university’s College of Education which will provide a broad range of education classes and faculty support.

AWARD

Up to 2 awards

ACTIVITY

Professional development

LENGTH

5 months

DEADLINE

April 15, 2024

Program Components

  1. Design and complete an individual or group inquiry project of direct relevance to their educational practice
  2. Participate in advanced undergraduate or graduate level classes at a U.S. host university.
  3. Observe classes, co-teach, and share their expertise with U.S. colleagues in U.S. elementary or secondary schools.
  4. Participate in an online professional learning community with other participants to share educational practices with a global network of colleagues
  5. Engage in other education and cultural activities while on program in the United States.

As part of the program, Fulbright Distinguished Teachers:

  1. Study and observe international best practices in education
  2. Share professional expertise with educators and students in the U.S.
  3. Develop leadership skills and understanding of U.S. educational policy
  4. Enhance their ability to work in diverse and multicultural environments

Service upon Return

  1. Integrate international best practices in education in the home country classroom, school and community
  2. Integrate Inquiry Project findings into the home/ host country classroom or school
  3. Expand global and intercultural awareness of students and colleagues by sharing their Fulbright experience and infusing their experience into classroom content or curriculum
  4. Develop partnerships and joint projects with schools and classrooms in the U.S.

Benefits

Up to 2 awards, subject to the Grant Authorization issued by the Department of State

  1. Travel allowance: a direct, round-trip economy-class air ticket and luggage fee (arranged by IREX)
  2. A pre-departure orientation held in participant’s home community or virtually
  3. Welcome Program in Washington D.C. or online
  4. Academic program fees (paid directly to the host institution)
  5. Housing (generally shared with other participants) and meals
  6. Transportation to local schools (if necessary)
  7. Limited accident and sickness medical insurance plan (does not cover pre-existing conditions)
  8. Maintenance allowance: cover expenses such as supplies for classes, household items, personal items, medical co-payments, cultural and other activities, daily stipend to purchase groceries, meals at local restaurants, or food from on-campus dining services
  9. A professional development allowance for the purchase of educational materials, to attend conferences, or other professional opportunities 
  10. The opportunity to apply for alumni small grants for alumni in good standing

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants are eligible who:

  1. Current full-time following people are eligible to apply:
    • elementary through high school teachers
    • guidance counselors
    • curriculum specialists
    • curriculum heads
    • talented and gifted coordinators
    • special education coordinators
    • media specialists/librarians
  2. Hold a full-time teaching position
    For the purpose of determining eligibility, “full-time” refers to applicants who are currently employed full-time or who hold a combination of positions that add up to full-time equivalency in a school, school district or educational institution at the local, state/provincial or national level.
  3. Spend at least 50% of their time teaching or working directly with students. 
    Primary and secondary level media specialists/librarians, guidance counselors, Special Education coordinators and administrators who teach students at least 50% of their time may also apply to the program. 
  4. Have earned a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent education and experience
  5. Demonstrate English language skills adequate to manage coursework, complete an inquiry project, and team-teach in U.S. schools.
  6. By the start of the program, have at least 3 years of experience teaching or working directly with students in some other capacity (as a guidance counselor, library media specialist, etc.); however, preference will be given to applicants with five or more years of experience
  7. Demonstrate experience conducting professional development activities
  8. Demonstrate accomplishment in teaching or have previously received teaching awards or exemplary evaluations
  9. Demonstrate a commitment to continue teaching or working in their field after completion of the program*
  10. Meet the Grant Conditions and Provisions (Eligibility & Visa)

* Candidates should be planning to continue working in elementary or secondary education for at least five years after the conclusion of the program.

Applicants are ineligible who:

  1. Applicants must hold citizenship in Republic of China (Taiwan). Besides, applicants cannot be U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. to participate in the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program. An applicant who has resided in the U.S. for five or more consecutive years in the six-year period preceding the date of application is ineligible for a grant. An applicant who has lived in the U.S. for nine months or more during a calendar year is deemed to have resided in the U.S. for that year.
  2. Are currently teaching, studying, or conducting research in the U.S.
  3. Ministry of Education officials, full-time principals or educational administrators, university faculty, private English Language tutors and teachers from schools primarily serving expatriates, Part‐time teachers are not eligible

Other Requirements:

  1. All other factors being equal, preference is given to applicants who has submitted all of the documents.

Note: During the grant period, the grantee must submit a research or reflections article to FSE’s Online Journal Research & Reflections.

Application Procedure

1

Apply online no later than April 15, 2024. For application information, please refer to: Application Instruction (PDF)

2

Submit the hard copy of following required documents to Fulbright Taiwan, postmarked no later than April 15, 2024.

  1. Hard copies of your completed on-lined application form (filled in English, including application form, English CV, employment certificate, and passport copy.)
  2. Chinese CV (the translation version of your English CV with your cell phone number and mailing address. We’ll deliver the notification letter via post mail after the nomination list is confirmed.)
  3. The applicant’s supervisor and principal have to fill the certain forms downloaded in the application system, and the forms should be uploaded in the application system.

The mailing address is:

Foundation for Scholarly Exchange
2nd Fl., 45, Yanping S. Rd., Taipei 100011, Taiwan
Attn. Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program

3

The application process has been completed! Wait for the notification letter!

FAQ

Applicants are not required to submit TOEFL or IELETS score reports. The DAI program will evaluate the applicants based on the interview performance.

The host institution will be arraged by the U.S. partner, International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX)

Our Foundation is in charge of documents required for visa application, including DS-2019, visa fee waiver, and the administrative procedures of visa application. It’s not the host institutions to issue DS-2019s to Fulbright grantees.

1) In the grant period, grantees have to submit at least one research result/reflections report to FSE Online Journal:(in Chinese or English)

2) After completion of your grant in the United States, you should return to Taiwan for at least two years before being eligible to apply for temporary worker (H), intracompany transferee (L), fiancé (K) visa, or immigrant visa/lawful permanent resident status (LPR), so called Two-Year Home-Country Physical Presence Requirement under Section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Within the two-year period, the grantees are allowed to apply for tourist visa, student visa, and other non-immigrant-non-employment visa to attend conferences, travel or study in the U.S.

Please refer to the selection report on the website.

The DAI program does NOT provide visa sponsorships to the grantees’ dependents.

Our Foundation will provide official letter to the selected DAI teacher as a proof for asking for leave from the home school. Previous DAI teachers followed the Guidelines for Position Retained without Pay of Official Teachers (教育人員留職停薪辦法) to ask for leave without pay, which should be approved by the home school and the home Education Bureau of the city/county.

Selection Procedure

May

Tentatively scheduled on May 8, 2024, a Selection Committee (academic peers from a variety of disciplines, Board members, and staff) reviews all documents and project proposals and recommends a slate for final selection by Fulbright Taiwan’s Board.

Mid-June

  1. Applicants are notified by Fulbright Taiwan of nomination/non-nomination by mid-June after the Board meeting. Their nomination is also sent to International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX) for global competition.
  2. The grant is then subject to:
    1. Final approval by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FFSB)
    2. The candidate’s placement with a U.S. institution approved by Fulbright Taiwan

December

Final approval is then normally received by Fulbright Taiwan in December 2024 and conveyed to grantees as soon as received.

Note: All Taiwan grantees traveling to the U.S. must hold a J-type visa for academic and cultural exchange programs.

Join the Prestigious Network!

More Information Below

Contact

Ms. Edith Wang
Email: fse@fulbright.org.tw
Tel: 02-2388-2100 ext. 143