UR Noyce Master Teaching Fellows Program--Phase II: Leveraging Unique Opportunities to Develop STEM Teacher Leaders for Urban Schools

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This Noyce Master Teaching Fellowship project will prepare a cadre of 14, K-12 STEM master teachers for high-need urban districts in upstate New York. Along with standard professional development activities, Master Teaching Fellows (MTFs) will have the option to (a) complete the additional requirements needed to obtain state certification as a school/district leader, (b) obtain a certificate in online teaching and learning, and (c) complete a doctorate in education, in order to acquire the credentials to be leaders in their districts' STEM reform plan. Additionally, the MTFs will have the unique opportunity to participate in the restructuring of mathematics and science curricula at an elementary school that is becoming a STEM school and at a failing high school that is being revitalized by the University of Rochester. This project builds on the important national systemic work of preparing a critical mass of master teachers in a region that has the highest poverty in the state of New York and the lowest graduation rate of African-American males in the entire country.The goals of this project are to improve the quality of teaching and to create teacher/leaders. Thus, the first two years of the project, will focus the MTF's attention on their own teaching practice to help them gain a deeper understanding of what it takes to create learning experiences that are more interesting, meaningful and effective for all students. The complement of additional activities will include: (a) graduate coursework, (b) seminars of practice, and (c) mentored experiences. The emphasis for the remainder of the project will be on the development of the MTF's leadership (knowledge, skills, and habits of mind). Formative and summative evaluation will be used to determine the extent to which the project elements have supported its goals. The MTFs will be assessed through surveys, classroom observations (Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol), and interviews. A subset of the fellow's experiences will be used in case studies to be disseminated through journals such as Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education and annual meetings of mathematics and science teachers.