| Requirements | Ph.D./M.D./Other Professional | ||||||||||||||
| Abstracts | Each year, KSTF awards Teaching Fellowships to exceptional young men and women committed to teaching science and mathematics in United States high schools. They believe the commitment to teaching merits the deepest respect and support. Their Teaching Fellowship is designed explicitly to meet the needs of teachers from the time they begin working on a teaching credential through the early years of their career. KSTF recognize that learning to teach is a life-long process, with critical benchmarks and challenges along the way. The first few years of teaching are particularly difficult. Faced with a sense of professional isolation, lack of support and mentoring, and the perception that teaching is a second-rate profession, approximately half of all secondary teachers in the United States leave the profession within five years. KSTF Teaching Fellowships are awarded based on four selection criteria: science or mathematics content knowledge, commitment to teaching, professional ability and leadership. Science or Mathematics Content Knowledge A KSTF Teaching Fellow is expected to have exceptional content knowledge in science or mathematics. By the time the fellowship is awarded, the Fellow will have earned at least a bachelor's degree in science, mathematics or a discipline related to the subject(s) they intend to teach. In addition, KSTF considers grades in science and/or mathematics courses, the selection (depth and breadth) of coursework, participation in research, teaching experience in that discipline and awards and honors in the discipline as indicators of a Fellow's content knowledge. A Teaching Fellow is also able to participate in an informed discussion about his/her discipline and the specific content that he/she plans to teach, both with experts in the field as well as lay persons. Commitment to Teaching Teaching Fellows can articulate meaningful reasons for choosing high school science or mathematics teaching and have realistic ideas about and respect for the work of teachers. They recognize that teaching is complex and that learning to teach takes significant time and effort. Teaching Fellows have gained satisfaction and insight from working with children and have a clear rationale for choosing to work with adolescents in high school. Professional Ability Teaching Fellows understand the need for and have begun to develop the skills critical for teaching, such as the ability to plan and be flexible, to deal with failure and learn from new situations, to deal with diverse individuals and to transform knowledge into forms available to students. They have demonstrated a mastery of written and oral communication and have shown commitment and achievement in a variety of areas. Furthermore, Fellows have developed a habit of being reflective and recognize that reflective practice is critical to becoming an outstanding professional teacher. Leadership Teaching Fellows have the potential to become the leaders and change agents in education. They have demonstrated their potential as leaders through previous leadership roles, including positions of accountability, instances of demonstrated initiative and the ability to be a team player. Fellows also display leadership in their manner of personal interactions, exhibiting evidence of responsibility and maturity, as well as ethical and professional behavior. | ||||||||||||||
| Eligibility | KSTF Science and Mathematics Teaching Fellows are chosen from among individuals who have earned or are in the process of earning a degree in science, mathematics or engineering from a recognized institution of higher education. Fellowships are offered for individuals committed to teaching high school mathematics, physical sciences or biological sciences. Applicants should have received their most recent content (i.e., science, mathematics or engineering) degree within five years of the start of the fellowship (June 1 of the application year.) An individual who is in the final year of an undergraduate, master's, combined BS with MAT or MEd program or near the completion of a doctoral program in a content area may also be eligible. Applicants who have earned a content degree within the last five years and are currently enrolled in a secondary teaching credential program at the time of application, or have completed their secondary credential no earlier than the fall term before the application deadline, are also eligible to apply. Applicants must be enrolled or plan to enroll in a recognized teacher education program that leads to a secondary science or mathematics teaching license. At the time of application, applicants do not need to be admitted into a teacher education program. However, successful applicants must be admitted into such a program before the fellowships are awarded in June. New teachers who are not yet certified, but are working on coursework leading to a teaching license, are eligible to apply. KSTF offers up to two years of tuition assistance for coursework leading to certification, even for teachers who are studying part-time. However, only full-time students receive a monthly stipend. Certified math or science teachers are not eligible for KSTF Teaching Fellowships, even if the certification is for other subjects or grade levels. Applicants should be committed to teaching for at least five years. Individuals who are not citizens or who hold degrees from outside the United States are eligible for the Teaching Fellowship. However, they must be committed to teaching science or mathematics in U.S. high schools. | ||||||||||||||
| COS Keywords | Science Education | ||||||||||||||
| Funding Type | Training, Scholarship, or Fellowship | ||||||||||||||
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Tuesday, October 4, 2011
HS teaching fellowships - Knowles Science Teaching Foundation (KSTF)
