The Louisiana Mathematics Masters in the Middle (LaM3) project is a collaborative partnership involving the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's College of Education and College of Sciences, Lafayette Parish School System, Iberia Parish School System, Vermilion Parish School System, and the Allen J. Celestine Foundation. Twenty exceptionally qualified mathematics teachers recruited from the three partner school districts are completing graduate coursework leading to the Louisiana Elementary Mathematics Specialist Certification, which signifies the ability to provide instructional leadership in mathematics. This Master Teacher Fellowship project is anchored in intensive content and pedagogical graduate courses and in engaging practicum that allows the participants to maximize their pedagogical potential. An objective of the project is to leverage the knowledge and skills of this talented mathematics teaching corps to foster, nurture, and unearth the hidden or unmet potential in students who are often underexposed to high-quality mathematics teaching. The project is 1) studying the effects of further strengthening mathematical content and pedagogical knowledge of exceptional mathematics teachers in Louisiana and 2) examining the extent to which the participants can accelerate the mathematical savvy and proficiency of students who possess hidden or unmet potential. The Master Teachers are establishing professional learning communities in their schools and mentoring preservice students who are preparing to become middle school mathematics teachers. The project further attempts to accentuate the value of LaM3 participants by chronicling changes in their peers' pedagogical practices that are attributable to participants' instructional leadership and describing empirical accounts of pre-service teachers' seminal experiences under the mentorship of LaM3 participants.
