Thank you for visiting our video showcase “Development of Teacher Leaders in High-Need Urban Schools.”

Our video describes the impact of The Rice University Robert Noyce Master Teaching Fellowship Program (RU-MTF) #1556006 on the 14 Master Teaching Fellows and outlines the results from data collection over the five years of the program.

Please comment on any aspect of our project. We’d love to hear from you.

Thank you for sharing the data you have collected over the past five years. It was very informative and seeing their progress is very assuring that schools will have good STEM teachers.

Similarly, TEACHHouston has submitted a video based upon a STEM teacher's journey to her career. Please view here:

https://videohall.com/p/2511

Thanks!

Great project!  Thank you for sharing outcomes about your Master Teacher Fellowship Program. Your focus group questions are well crafted and interesting. I especially appreciate how you examine complications that could have been caused by the pandemic and the community leadership roles that teachers may have taken up during the project or during the pandemic. I am interested in seeing some of your other presentations and / or publications.  What grade levels of teachers did you work with? 

Thank you for your comments. We worked with middle school and senior high school teachers on this grant. You may find presentations/publications on our website https://rusmp.rice.edu/about/noyce

Hello Anne.  Congratulations on your successful project.  I enjoyed learning about all of your activities related to this grant.  Thank you!

In the written description of the program above some focus group questions were mentioned. I'm particularly curious about teachers answers to (1) and (5), and (6).
(1) What does effective mathematics instruction look like?(5) What leadership roles have you assumed in your community since the program? (6) What is the importance of community connectedness?

Can you share what you learned from asking teachers about these ideas?

It's great to see these results! This is an "expensive" program focused on a small group of teachers for five years (reflecting what we know about the time needed for significant or lasting change to happen). Is this "what it takes" for meaningful mathematics teacher leader development or are there aspects that can be applied in less time and dollar intensive teacher leadership PD? 

Excellent analysis of costs!

I appreciate that Teacher Leadership development for inservice teachers began with a content and pedagogy course. Could you share more about that course? Was it developed specifically for the grant effort or was it an existing Rice course? Were the courses designed to be live and switched to virtual due to the pandemic? Lastly, what teacher feedback did you get about the demands of their participation in relation to their stipends?

These were not existing Rice courses as we tailored the content to the participants. One of the resources we used was Applications of Algebra and Geometry to the Work of Teaching which was the basis of the mathematics. We modeled proper pedagogy that was learner-centric and actively engaged all learners. We modeled how to differentiate instruction and infused a variety of technologies when appropriate. We also had readings on coaching and mentoring and had an AVID piece each summer on culturally responsive teaching. Conversations about supporting teachers and students took place and we brought in guest speakers to address questions on racism, inequities in education, and other topics the MTFs raised in their journals. The courses were in person because they took place pre-pandemic. The personalized work the MTFs did the next three summers were virtual. MTFs suggested that the coursework extend to a third year if we ever submitted another Noyce proposal. They appreciated the learning opportunities and networking opportunities during the first two summers and wanted more. Our MTFs did not consider the work that was required for the stipends too much. They were playing important roles in providing professional develop during the pandemic and providing the needed leadership in their departments, in their schools, and in their school communities. These were difficult times and they soared.

Hi my name is Chanda Jefferson and I am so happy to join the conversation. This is a wonderful program and as we think about reimagining education, we definitely need to devise a plan to expand programs like this one to develop teacher leader and improve instruction across the board. Can you share examples of resources you used during the summer intensive session and throughout the program to help enhance teachers skills to address equity and diversity in math?

Because of our longstanding relationship with HISD (since RUSMP's inception in 1987) and its math community, we designed a program based on their needs. These MTFs have been members of our network, some for decades, so we carefully crafted a program using materials, curriculum, and activities, we have developed over the years. AVID customized their piece to ensure it fit what we were already don't with culturally responsive teaching. Our team included people who are champions and advocates for equity and diversity (e.g., Richard Tapia) and we brought in the Center for Healing of Racism. Our resources were our team although we did have readings from the experts too.

Thanks for sharing your project!  I am curious about the measures you used to document impact on teachers? Do any of the publications you mention in the video describe them and the results? If so could you share a reference or link to them?

This presentation includes the references to the measures and instruments we used: Ekmekci, A., Aqazade, M., McMorris, P., Jaster, S. (2022, February). The Rice University Master Teaching Fellowship Program Results: Development of Teacher Leaders in High-Need Urban Schools. Midwest Annual Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Conference, Louisville & Cave City, KY.

Thanks, Anne!