California State University, Dominguez Hills' School of Education and College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences, Los Angeles Unified School District's Local District 7 and Local District 8, and the Los Angeles Education Partnership are collaborating to recruit, train, support and retain 30 master science teachers of biology and chemistry in two cohorts of 15 each. The project's objectives are to: 1) increase content knowledge of participating fellows; 2) increase the pedagogical skills of participating fellows; 3) increase the leadership skills of participating fellows; 4) improve science teaching by mentees of the fellows; and 5) improve science achievement in participating schools. The Master Teaching Fellows receive $10,000 stipends annually for five years as they fulfill program requirements. These master teachers are improving science teaching and achievement in low-performing, hard-to-staff schools in high-poverty South Los Angeles including three high schools, five feeder middle and 10 feeder elementary schools that enroll more than 26,000 students, nearly all Latino or African American. Fellows support and mentor fellow teachers in their schools; support and mentor preservice teachers who are preparing to teach in high-need schools throughout LAUSD; mentor and model good teaching for undergraduate Noyce Scholars; broadly disseminate science knowledge and pedagogical strategies to district teachers through various professional development activities; and disseminate results of their long-term action research projects and inquiry-based lesson designs at local, regional and national conferences. Fellows each have an advising committee of experts to help develop and monitor the implementation of an individualized plan to meet the competencies in content, pedagogy and leadership. Fellows complete a three-semester sequence of new graduate-level courses designed for secondary teachers that combine content knowledge and teaching strategies to effectively correct misperceptions frequently encountered in assessments of secondary-level science students. Participation in a monthly professional learning community reinforces and expands pedagogical skills while providing training in inquiry-based lesson design, Lesson Study, action research, Cognitive Coaching and leadership skills. Fellows are becoming well prepared to mentor and train in-service and preservice teachers in existing programs in which the partners currently collaborate. In addition, Fellows participate in a summer research internship at a laboratory, take additional science coursework, conduct a long-term action research project, and present their work at local and national conferences.
