The Mathematics Master Teacher Leadership Project

California State University-Fresno Foundation, Fresno CA

Investigators

Abstract

The M2TL project will address the national need to prepare high-quality mathematics teachers who are effective in helping all students succeed. The project trains a leadership cadre of teachers to be Master Teaching Fellows in High-Need School Districts. The M2TL project builds on the foundation of GOTMath, a previous NSF-funded project that prepared a pipeline of community college students to enroll in the university’s Mathematics teacher education program. The M2TL project will support Master Teaching Fellows to become excellent mentors to these GOTMath Student-Scholars as they earn their bachelor’s degree and become new teachers in the High-Need School Districts. The project will also engage the Master Teaching Fellows in a research-based Leadership Initiative that develops the Fellows’ capacity by offering a suite of leadership development experiences. The Leadership Initiative aims to produce Fellows who are future school leaders who are effective at mentoring less experienced teachers to be more effective as well. The Master Teaching Fellows will complete a master’s degree in mathematics and participate in teaching and leadership workshops offered by the project’s many partners. They will become the next generation of math teacher-leaders vitally needed to create schools that are sites of success for all students. The M2TL project brings together nine partners: the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium; Fresno County Superintendent of Schools; San Joaquin Valley Mathematics Project; CSU Mathematics and Science Teacher Initiative; and five unified school districts (Fresno, Sanger, Reef-Sunset, Central, and Mendota). Project goals include recruiting and mentoring 18 master’s-level teachers from these districts. The project will deliver a research-based Leadership Initiative, scaffolded over the five years, that prepares these teachers to be the next generation of teacher-leaders in their placement schools. The project rests on four proven methods for building an effective teaching workforce: (1) multipurpose mentoring; (2) increasing effective teacher-leaders; (3) investing in local teachers; and (4) Lesson Study, which forms a school-based community of teachers to collaborate to improve math instruction. The assessment will target three questions: (1) In what ways do activities influence the participants’ understanding of mathematics teacher leadership? (2) How do activities contribute to the growth of a Fellow as a teacher of mathematics, an educational researcher, and a leader? (3) In what ways do Teacher Leaders influence their colleagues in their schools to improve mathematics teaching? The PI Team will disseminate project findings at conferences and in journals, and they will share the findings with the CSU Director of Educator Preparation to disseminate to all 23 CSU campuses. This Track 3: Master Teaching Fellowships project is supported through the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce). The Noyce program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and professionals to become effective K-12 STEM teachers and experienced, exemplary K-12 teachers to become STEM master teachers in High-Need School Districts. Finally, it supports research on the effectiveness and retention of K-12 STEM teachers in these school districts. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.