The goal of this Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) project is to use Clinical Faculty support to ensure that all new teachers will continue to learn new mathematics, view themselves as members of the broader mathematics community, share with others their ideas and experiences concerning the teaching of mathematics and become mathematics education professionals. The Clinical Faculty who will work with these new teachers will be a cadre of twenty exemplary teachers from the Richmond area school systems. They will have demonstrated leadership through their activities in the Greater Richmond Area Teacher Professional Network. As an extension of the collegial, collaborative activities of this network, the group of outstanding mathematics teachers will be prepared to play an ongoing role in all aspects of VCU's Mathematics Teacher Preparation Program. They will work with VCU's mathematics and mathematics education faculty in updating the structure of the teacher preparation program, teach components of mathematics and mathematics education courses, serve as role models for new teachers, and work with student teachers. The outcome of the program will be evaluated and analyzed for potential effectiveness as a national model for enhancing the teaching profession. The cost sharing for the project will be fifty-eight percent of the National Science Foundation portion.
