The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMA) Teacher Fellowship/Master Teacher Fellowship (TF/MTF) Planning Grant supports the establishment of a partnership between UMA's Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies Department, the Colleges of Natural Sciences and Engineering; urban and rural high needs school districts (Springfield, Holyoke, Greenfield, Athol, Orange); and non-profit organizations in the Pioneer Valley for the purpose of developing a full Noyce Teacher Fellowship/Master Teacher Fellowship (TF/MTF) proposal. The project responds to a critical need for outstanding middle and high school teachers of science and mathematics. More than twenty planning meetings will be convened to develop professional development trajectories for Noyce Fellows. Partners will: 1) examine school districts' needs for professional development; 2) implement and address the results of a School Needs Assessment; 3) plan for revision of current UMA NCATE-approved teacher education programs; 4) develop a plan for Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoP's); 5) establish plans for meaningful connections for MTF's within the initial teacher licensure programs; and 6) form linkages between teacher education and research projects in UMass STEM/CASA. Via the UMA Planning Grant, partners will also seek resources for the required 50% matching funds needed in the full proposal.
This planning grant will allow the partners to work towards the integration of research-based concepts and the creation of a successful teacher education program that will address the concerns of high-needs school districts to acquire and retain effective teachers. Central goals include: 1) the development of effective communities via new technologies to address the common problem of teacher isolation and provide Fellows with long-term support; 2) integrate meaningful STEM research experiences as part of the teacher education experience; and 3) develop within a teacher education program, elements that will enable teachers to be culturally responsive to the students and the communities in which they teach.
NSF Award #1035346 PI Kathleen Davis, U of Massachusetts Amherst The School of Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in collaboration with the colleges of Natural Sciences and Engineering, received a one-year Planning Grant from the National Science Foundation. The planning grant enabled the PIs to engage community partners from across the region to collaboratively develop plans for a network of teacher-learners in western Massachusetts, designed to improve education and retention of science and mathematics teachers for high needs middle and high schools Members of the PI team already had working relationships with four high-needs districts approached as potential partners. However, working relationships are not the same as partnerships. A majority of the effort of the PI team over the course of the planning grant period involved translating existing positive working relationships into a shared vision of goals, methodologies to achieve those goals, measureable outcomes, and explicit commitments to implement the vision. All partners moved towards alignment in vision for how UMass can better contribute to STEM education in schools. To better understand the challenges, weaknesses, and strengths of the school districts, we conducted a needs assessment through classroom observations and conversations. Through these mechanisms we were able to identify what was working, the challenges the teachers face, and the types of opportunities that would best address these challenges. To better understand how to build from existing University programs and extend opportunities for teacher development and leadership, we conducted a review of current UMass School of Education programs for mathematics and science teachers. Although University curriculum was not a primary focus of planning, UMass and school representatives began two-way conversations and listening that built trust for addressing mathematics and science curriculum and methods concerns. We also explored opportunities to collaborate with the College of Engineering, the College of Natural Sciences, nonprofit organizations, and industrial partners to provide rich professional development content. Three shared visions emerged: A commitment to the value of ‘real world’ STEM research and community STEM experiences for teachers of mathematics and science, A vision for replacing ‘one teacher, one touch’ university outreach with ‘sustainable, systematic, district-wide impact on teaching and learning’, and A commitment to moving from long-standing working relationships between the School of Education and school districts, such as student teaching sites, to aligned partnerships based on common visions for classroom practice. Other identified shared goals included the development of STEM content courses that integrate the use of technological tools to facilitate learning, the reduction of the isolation of classroom teachers through the development of a virtual community of practice (VCoP), and the retention of teachers. It was felt that the shared vision and goals would jointly meet the overall aim to increase student engagement and achievement via teacher understanding of subject matter for teaching, the development of culturally responsive pedagogies, and community connections. The grant provided three graduate students in STEM Education with the opportunity to learn more about ways to use research protocols to collect classroom data and to use analysis tools to make sense of that data. These students were trained and had an opportunity to practice research techniques using the SAMPI classroom observation protocol. A total of 38 observations of mathematics and science classrooms in all four participating districts were completed by the project RAs. Based on preliminary findings, these data are in the process of being further analyzed for possible publication. The observations established UMass as a friendly research presence in our four partner districts. The culmination of these efforts was the submittal of a full Noyce MTF/TF proposal to address the critical need for middle and high school science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers in four regional school districts, the Springfield, Holyoke and Greenfield public schools, and the Mahar Regional School District in Orange. The Amherst-based Hitchcock Center for the Environment, a non-profit organization focused on the professional development of teachers and the education of young people in the sciences, is a key partner in this project as well. In August 2011, the proposal team received word that they were awarded a $3 million grant, accompanied by $1.5 million in matching contributions from the university and project partners. The six-year project will support an engaged community of 20 Master Teaching Fellows– teachers currently working in the partner districts with a Master’s degree and demonstrated excellence in teaching - and 20 Teaching Fellows–post-baccalaureate students and professionals holding STEM degrees who will earn a teaching credential and teach in a high-need district. It provides these science and mathematics teachers with community support, licensure, graduate degrees and certificates and salary supplements while they teach. The project will also provide in-service secondary mathematics and science teachers with professional learning experiences focused on effective inquiry-based, place-based, and culturally responsive instructional practices, leadership, and mentoring skills.
