The Arizona Master Teachers of Mathematics (AZ-MTM) is a partnership among the University of Arizona Department of Mathematics and College of Education, the Tucson Unified School District, the Sunnyside School District, the Pima County Regional Support Center, and the Arizona K-12 Center. The AZ-MTM is working to create 20 Master Teachers (as part of a single cohort) who can provide school, district, and state-level leadership in K-8 mathematics. The AZ-MTM is a 5-year program that provides extensive training to Master Teacher Fellows (MTFs) in the leadership of professional learning communities, analysis of authentic artifacts of practice, coaching and mentoring strategies, equity in mathematics teaching and learning, organizational structures and systems thinking, and pre-service teacher education. The program is structured using an apprenticeship model, with MTFs taking increased leadership roles and responsibility for professional development in mathematics within their schools and districts as the program progresses. The AZ-MTM program builds directly upon research on mathematics teacher professional development and teacher leader development in that Fellows are developing knowledge of research, and acquiring practical experience implementing research-based professional development. Research-based methods central to the AZ-MTM program include analysis of student work and other artifacts, development of professional learning communities, cognitive and content coaching, and consideration of organizational contexts. The intellectual merit of the program is further demonstrated by its focus on the development of teacher leaders who have knowledge of research and methods in the areas of equity, mathematical discourse, and English Language Learners, and cultural and community knowledge in mathematics education. The impacts of the AZ-MTM program begin with the Master Teacher Fellows themselves and then spread through the schools and districts in which the MTFs work. Fellows assist other teachers in their schools in improving their teaching of mathematics. Importantly, the AZ-MTM program is creating Master Teachers who utilize professional development methods that are research-based and who focus teachers' attention on supporting the mathematics learning of students who have been underrepresented in STEM fields. In these ways, the program is helping to ensure the broadest impact possible on the quality of K-8 mathematics instruction.
