Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC), in partnership with Shawnee Community College (SCC), Massac County USD 1, Murphysboro CUSD 186, and several other high-need school districts in Southern Illinois, is engaged in a planning process to develop a combined Teaching Fellowships/Master Teaching Fellowships program for in-service teachers and STEM professionals committed to teach in rural high-need school districts. Key to the proposed Planning Partnership is the creation of a Fellowship Program targeted at developing highly qualified K-8 teachers at high-need school districts. The Fellowship Program is expected to provide teachers with a deep understanding of science and mathematics content, training and experience in inquiry-based learning methodologies and tools to mount evidence-based curriculum revision through Action Research in their own unique school environments. SCC is a key link in this partnership as most students at SCC attended the partner school districts and transfer to SIUC to complete their undergraduate degree. Twenty-five to thirty (25-30) teachers and administrators from 10 or more rural high-need school districts in Southern Illinois are participating in the planning meetings and assisting with needs assessments. A critical goal of the proposed Planning Partnership is to develop a framework for an innovative Teacher Fellowships/Master Teaching Fellowships program that will provide increased mathematics and science content and pedagogical knowledge and improved instructional leadership skills for K-8 in-service teachers and for STEM professionals who desire to pursue certification and teach in rural high-need schools. The Planning Partnership is identifying professional development needs for teachers and leading to the development of a framework for a Fellowship Program for K-8 teachers in high-need schools.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) established a NSF Robert Noyce Master Teaching Fellowships Planning Partnership with Shawnee Community College (SCC) and teachers and administrators from several high-need school districts in Southern Illinois. The proposed Master Teaching Fellowship (MTF) program was designed for in-service teachers and STEM professionals committed to teach in rural high-need school districts. Key to the proposed MTF is the creation of a Fellowship Program targeted at developing highly qualified 4-8 grade teachers at high-need school districts. The Fellowship Program is expected to provide teachers with a deep understanding of science and mathematics content, training and experience in inquiry-based learning methodologies and tools to achieve evidence-based curriculum revision through Action Research in their own unique school environments. A critical goal of the proposed Planning Partnership was to develop a framework for an innovative Master Teaching Fellowship program that will provide increased mathematics and science content and pedagogical knowledge and improved instructional leadership skills for 4-8 in-service teachers who desire to pursue national board certification and teach in rural high-need schools. The main objective as outlined in school improvement plans of our partner school districts is to increase students’ achievement in mathematics and science. Our partner school districts are committed to this partnership and welcome the opportunity to improve student achievement through further professional development and support for their teachers. Through this Planning Partnership, professional development needs for teachers were identified and led to the development of a framework for a Fellowship Program for 4-8 teachers in high-need schools. The framework and design of the Fellowship Program is based on findings in a needs assessment and information learned during our planning meetings and activities with teachers. Ultimately, teachers will be prepared to effectively teach mathematics and science, help increase all students’ achievement, close achievement gaps that exist along ethnic and economic lines, and take leadership roles in their respective schools. The proposed Planning Partnership brings together two institutions of higher learning with strong traditions of reaching out to diverse and underserved students and successful track records of providing highly effective teacher professional development. SIUC, the second largest research university in the State of Illinois, with a long history of service to a racially and economically diverse student populations since inception, will partner with SCC, a rurally located community college serving some of the lowest median income regions in Illinois with the lowest post-secondary education and weakest Math/Science testing scores and therefore the greatest potential for advancement. After months of planning to address the needs of 4-8 teachers in Southern Illinois, the 'A Community of Problem Solvers: Teachers Leading Problem-Based Learning in Southern Illinois' proposal was submitted to the NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program in March 2011 and later selected for funding and implementation in fall 2011. In 'A Community of Problem Solvers: Teachers Leading Problem-Based Learning in Southern Illinois', the partners will implement a Master Teaching Fellowship program to empower 4-8 teachers at all stages of their professional development to create a sustainable environment to advance science and mathematics achievement among their students. The program will cultivate a community of dynamic science education by producing exceptional Master Teaching Fellows in the high-need schools of rural Southern Illinois. Select in-service teachers will join the effort and experience a range of professional development activities that include science content enrichment and mentored research, with a focus on solving regional scientific problems. Mathematics will be intentionally integrated as a necessary tool for conducting research, while science will be investigated as a context to make sense of and extend abstract mathematical ideas.
