Building Leadership among Science Teachers in Rural Regions: Designing, Developing, and Implementing a Science Teacher Leadership Academy

About This Grant

This Noyce Track 3 project aims to serve the national need to extend the knowledge base around effective strategies for teacher and teacher leader retention and professional growth. Additionally, this project will support and develop 28 K-8 teachers (Master Teacher Fellows; MTFs) in high-need districts in South Carolina (SC) by participating in the Building Leadership among Science Teachers in Rural Regions (BLAST) Leadership Program over five years consisting of a Leadership Simulation, Summer Institute, and Summer Conferences, completing online modules designed to support their individualized learning needs and goals, implement a professional learning and leadership plan, collaborate with their principals, attend and present at National Science Teacher Association (NSTA) conferences and receive individualized coaching in their classroom. The proposed project components will enable high-achieving practicing teachers to become science teacher leaders who will lead in their high-need schools and districts by mentoring, leading professional development, and seeking out other ways they may support other science teachers. This project at Clemson University includes partnerships with WestEd’s Making Sense of Science and SC school districts. Project goals include implementation of individualized professional development and coaching over the course of five years for 28 teachers to produce science teacher leaders who can effect change within their high-need schools and school systems. This work is grounded in situated learning and the science teacher leader framework and seeks to explore the following questions: (1.) How does change happen in a high-need school system via teacher leaders?, 2. In (2.) what ways does geographic location support or hinder teacher leadership?, and (3.) What are key leverage points in high-need school systems that support rigorous science education? This project will be iteratively evaluated. Evaluation of the project will be guided by the following evaluation question(s): (1.) What is the quality of the BLAST program for MTFs? To what extent is it designed to reflect (a) best practices for professional learning for teachers, (2.) best practices for the development of science teacher leaders, and (c) best practices in science instruction? (3.) What is the effectiveness of the MTFs in terms of their ability to (a) design and implement best practices in science instruction, (b) develop and complete a professional learning plan, (c) develop and implement a leadership plan, and (d) take on leadership roles connected to science in their high-need schools and districts? and (4.) How well does the BLAST program retain MTFs in their high-need LEAs? If teachers leave the program or LEA, what prompted the decision to do so? The results of this project will be disseminated to help enhance the field. This Master Teaching Fellowships project is supported through the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce). The Noyce program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and professionals to become effective K-12 STEM teachers and experienced, exemplary K-12 teachers to become STEM master teachers in high-need school districts. It also supports research on the effectiveness and retention of K-12 STEM teachers in high-need school districts. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.