La Salle University is developing the specific components of an NSF Teaching Fellowships and Master Teaching Fellowships (TF/MTF) initiative focusing on two distinct target populations throughout Eastern and Southeastern Pennsylvania: STEM professionals who are enrolling in a master's degree program leading to teacher certification, and science, technology and mathematics teachers preparing to become Master Teachers. Specific components being developed during the planning phase include: (1) Partnerships with institutions of higher education, school districts, non-profit organizations, and private industry, (2) Commitments to provide matching funds, (3) Curricular requirements, course syllabi and professional development activities, (4) Processes for recruiting and selecting program participants, and (5) Methodology and criteria for evaluating TF and MTF program components, participants' performance, and the impact of the TF and MTF participants on their students, schools, and school districts. La Salle's TF/MTF initiative emphasizes pedagogical expertise, content/disciplinary knowledge, curriculum development, mentoring, inquiry-based methods, assessment of student outcomes, and practitioner-oriented professional development to complement course work in order to produce high caliber expert teachers and Master Teachers with a sense of mission.
