Knowles Science Teaching Foundation | 1000 North Church Street Moorestown, NJ 08057 | Tel: 856.608.0001 | www.kstf.org
Teachers supported by the Knowles Science Teaching
Foundation are improving science, technology, engineering
and math (STEM) education in U.S. high schools.
KSTF provides beginning high school STEM teachers with five-year fellowships designed to
help them become master teachers and leaders. These “backbone” teachers reach thousands
of students each year, take on leadership roles improving math and science education from
the classroom and strengthen the teaching profession.
THE PROBLEM:
A shortage of quality teachers
A growing gap between retiring and beginning
teachers is weakening the teaching profession. High
attrition rates means teachers leave the profession
before developing expertise and the pool of potential
mentors for novices is dwindling. At the same time,
children of color and children living in poverty are
disproportionately taught by the least experienced
teachers. And the STEM teacher workforce is
struggling to retain individuals with deep content
knowledge when many other professions can offer
higher salaries.
(Ingersoll & Perda, 2010)
THE CHALLENGE:
Lack of student interest and
proficiency
THE SOLUTION:
A national network of STEM
teacher leaders.
For at least 30 years, there have been claims about
the need for increased STEM capacity in the United
States, and warnings about the inability of the current
educational system to meet that need. The President’s
Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (2010)
has argued that the lack of STEM capacity in the United
States is not only an issue of student proficiency,
but a lack of student interest in STEM fields as well.
The work of KSTF is aimed at creating a stable,
sustainable corps of outstanding teachers, who have
the capacity and inclination to drive positive change
in the United States’ educational system.
,
WHO WE ARE
KSTF is dedicated to improving the
quality of high school STEM education
in the United States through Teaching
Fellowships, research and more.
through an ever-increasing number of routes. There
is very little consensus or understanding of what
constitutes good—or even adequate—preparation
for an increasingly diverse student population and
range of teaching contexts.
A SHORTAGE OF QUALITY TEACHERS
The Knowles Science Teaching Foundation (KSTF)
was established in 1999 to increase the number
of high-quality high school STEM teachers with
the ultimate goal of improving STEM education in
the United States. KSTF currently operates three
programs that build national capacity for improving
STEM teaching, leading and learning: Teaching
Fellowships, Research and Evaluation, and Senior
Fellows.
WHAT WE DO
Four cornerstone goals drive everything
we do.
KSTF is driven by four goals that describe who we are,
what we do and why it matters. These cornerstones
serve as the foundation for designing, evaluating and
improving our programs to strengthen the teaching
profession and improve STEM education.
WHY IT MATTERS
The current educational system needs
a solution.
THE CHANGING TEACHER WORKFORCE
As the need for a STEM-literate population is growing,
the teacher workforce in the United States is changing
significantly. The teacher preparation system has
expanded and new teachers enter the profession
New teachers are leaving before they develop
expertise and retiring teachers are draining the
pool of potential mentors for novices. In addition,
children of color and children living in poverty—
two demographic categories that have been
steadily growing—are disproportionately taught
by the least experienced teachers. Plus, the STEM
teacher workforce is struggling to retain individuals
with expertise that
is
increasingly
in
demand
by
other
professions, many of
which can offer higher
salaries. These factors
are weakening the
teaching
profession,
our educational system
and the intellectual capacity of the nation.
ADDING TEACHERS IS NOT ENOUGH
A number of recent initiatives have
attempted to address the shortfalls in
STEM education, mostly by recruiting, preparing
and retaining more highly qualified STEM teachers.
There may always be high turnover in the teaching
profession, but a constant influx of new teachers
will not sustain—let alone strengthen—the teaching
profession. Without a strong, stable corps of
expert teachers, we cannot hope for an improved
educational system that meets the needs of a society
that is becoming
g more diverse and more dependent
on ttechnology
and critical thinking.
ech
BACKBONE TEACHERS
A small but growing group of educators argue that
meaningful education reform requires leadership
from within the teaching profession, by teachers who
take responsibility for their own development and for
educational improvement. In China, such teachers are
known as backbone teachers. They are identified early
in their careers and nurtured to become leaders who
model effective practices, mentor novice teachers,
and conduct inquiry into classroom teaching
and learning. By contrast, teacher leaders in the U.S.
are expected to emerge serendipitously rather than
developed intentionally.
KSTF is developing backbone teachers who are:
1: Outstanding teachers
2: Leaders from the
classroom
3: Generators of
knowledge of and
for teaching
4: Part of a national
network
KSTF is Taking Action!
KSTF works to strengthen the teaching profession
and increase the U.S. education system’s capacity to
continually improve STEM education by creating a
networked community of teachers who:
ŗ Mentor and sustain new teachers,
Three Reasons Why the United
States Needs Backbone Teachers
1. EXPERIENCE = EFFECTIVE TEACHERS
No matter how much we improve initial teacher
preparation, classroom experience will always be
essential to a teacher’s effectiveness.
2. QUALITY TEACHING REQUIRES
COLLABORATION
Teaching quality is not simply a matter of
an individual teacher’s characteristics. It also
depends on the quality of a school, its leadership and
community (Bryk & Schneider, 2002; NAE, 2009). For
a school to have high teaching quality, the staff must
include some teachers with experience and expertise
who can serve as collaborators and models for newer
teachers. While backbone teachers have the ability
to improve teaching and learning within existing
systems, they also drive demand for—and have the
capacity to help create and sustain—more innovative
and effective schools and systems.
3. WE NEED LEADERS WHO GO BEYOND
INSTRUCTION
The teaching profession needs lead teachers who can
take on roles over and above instruction, including:
ŗ Mentoring new teachers
ŗ Developing, piloting and testing curricular
resources
ŗ Collaborating on inquiry to produce new
knowledge
ŗ Serving as teacher educators in residency and
university-based programs
ŗ Set and meet high standards for student
learning, and
ŗ Leading professional development
ŗ Create and uphold benchmarks of teacher
professionalism grounded in a deep and
nuanced understanding of the work of teaching.
ŗ Collaborating with principals and teachers in
school improvement plans
ŗ Observing and evaluating colleagues
ŗ Supporting and inspiring colleagues who need
additional assistance
We believe in leadership from within the classroom.
Teaching is challenging. It requires commitment. And to learn and grow, teachers need to inquire
into their into their own classrooms and practices. KSTF programs provide the resources and the
professional network for teachers to collaborate so they can develop as leaders.
KSTF offers three distinct programs for teachers at
different stages in their professional development.
Although the programs are separate, they are fully
connected and work together toward our mission of a
strong teaching profession.
KSTF TEACHING FELLOWSHIPS
As KSTF’s signature program, Teaching Fellowships
provide STEM teachers with a cohesive fiveyear professional development program, grants
for classroom materials, individual professional
development and leadership activities, plus summer
stipends.
program in other ways. KSTF supports Senior Fellows
in a wide range of teacher leadership activities in
schools, districts, and beyond, as well as within KSTF.
RESEARCH AND EVALUATION
The Research and Evaluation program evaluates
our Teaching Fellow and Senior Fellow programs to
identify opportunities for improvement. Researchers
also analyze data to determine the impact of our
Fellows and Senior Fellows. These efforts help us
understand the resources and knowledge we need to
improve our programs and the results they achieve.
SENIOR FELLOWS
Once fellows complete the five-year Teaching
Fellowship program, they become Senior Fellows.
Senior Fellows have the opportunity to apply for
grants and contribute to the Teaching Fellowship
KSTF PROGRAMS
HISTORY
The inspiration for the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation
While looking for talent to employ at Metrologic Instruments,
(KSTF) dates back to 1968, when Mr. C. Harry Knowles founded
Mr. Knowles noticed a lack of science and mathematics training
Metrologic Instruments Inc. This innovative company became a
among young engineering recruits. This dilemma inspired the
leader in advanced bar code scanners and a pioneering force in
formation of the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation (KSTF).
the data capture industry, eventually registering over 370 patents.
1999
C. Harry Knowles and Janet H.
Knowles found the Knowles
Science Teaching Foundation
2005
2002
The first three KSTF Teaching
Fellowships are awarded
KSTF’s Research program is
introduced.
Teaching Fellowship
program expands to
include math teachers.
2006
KSTF holds its inaugural
conference in Racine, Wisconsin.
Documents from the conference
are published in Wingspread.
FELLOWSHIP OVERVIEW
SELECTION CRITERIA
KSTF Teaching Fellowships are among the most
comprehensive in the nation, combining extensive
financial and professional support.
KSTF Teaching Fellowships are awarded based on
three criteria:
KSTF awards Teaching Fellowships to early-career
teachers in the STEM fields. The fellowship is
designed to meet the needs of beginning teachers
from the onset of the credentialing process through
the early years of their careers.
ŗ The potential to develop the content knowledge
needed for teaching
ŗ The potential to develop exemplary teaching
practices, and
ŗ The potential to develop the qualities of a
teacher leader.
KSTF FELLOWS RECIEVE:
ŗ
ŗ
ŗ
ŗ
Stipends
Funding for professional development
Grants for teaching materials
Leadership & mentoring opportunities
KSTF believes the U.S.
teaching workforce needs
experienced backbone
teachers who are
extensively networked to
pool their expertise. We also
need models for recruiting,
selecting, retaining, and
supporting these teachers.
For more information on KSTF’s Teaching Fellowship program, visit kstf.org/apply
2008
Fellowship program
is expanded to include
biology teachers.
2010
Senior Fellows program
(formerly Alumni program)
is formalized
2011
Research and Evaluation
program shifts focus to
teacher research
2012
Teaching Fellowship
program supports 150
fellows across the five
years of the program
2013
Developing backbone
teachers
Knowles Science Teaching Foundation
1000 North Church Street
Moorestown, NJ 08057
Tel.: 856.608.0001
Fax: 856.608.0008
www.kstf.org