Position Paper Presenting Master Teachers Vision, Standards & Needs

In the past few years, an echelon of master teachers has emerged, as part of the five-unit endeavor in high schools. This group of excellent teachers of mathematics and the sciences lead the professional learning communities of teachers, provide instructional coaching to their peers, guide the induction of new teachers and inform the development of learning materials and pedagogic tools. The planned National Institute for Advanced Teaching was designed to give this cadre of teachers a professional home, voice and status.

Since there is neither a permanent government in Israel, nor a national budget, the agreement for establishing the Institute is on halt. Since this is a continuing situation, the professional needs of the master teachers are sidelined and the promise of helping them to develop their professionalism and leadership is now vague. They are still temporarily employed in ad hoc projects, which do not share standards, nor dedicate serious attention to professional development that is focused on the master teachers.

In order not to leave behind a vacuum, we approached the Initiative for Applied Education Research at the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The Initiative proposes to convene a group of nine master teachers of mathematics and the sciences, who will be invited to jointly formulate a position paper that would present their professional vision and define standards for their professional development and their work needs. The teachers will receive modest stipends and participate in a process comprised of six workshops over a period of one year.

The workshops will include learning on how other countries are developing their lead teachers, and about the professional development of leaders in other professions. The group will conduct conversations with colleagues around the world and go on a study visit to one of the countries where master teachers play a central role. A committee of education researchers will work with the group to support the teachers with relevant background and academic material. A sounding board of 30 experts from academia, government and additional teachers, will provide feedback, insight and critique.

The foundation expressed its willingness that Lee Shulman from Stanford University, and Chua-Lim Yen Ching, the head of the Academy of Singapore Teachers will be consulted during the process. The final report will present the professional vision of the lead teachers, including professional standards, career paths, support needs and expectations for collaboration with the government and the academic research community. The final report, as well as the background documents and study visit summary, will be made available to the professional community.

* The text presented above shows the grant as approved by the Foundation Board / Grant 386