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Teaching Fellowship Application Information
During 2008-2009, the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation is recruiting men and women for their Mathematics and Science Teaching Fellowships. The fellowships support individuals with exceptional science and mathematics content knowledge who are committed to teaching high schoool in the United States. There are three strands in the KSTF Teaching Fellowship Program: physical science fellowships support those who have a degree in a physical science (for example, physics, chemistry or astronomy) or engineering and are committed to teaching high school physics, physical science, chemistry and/or earth science; mathematics fellowships support individuals with at least a bachelor's degree in mathematics or mathematical content preparation equivalent to a mathematics major; the biological science fellowships support individuals with at least a bachelor's degree in contemporary biology or other life science.
The teaching fellowships are renewable for up to five years and will begin on June 1, 2009.
Applications for the 2009 KSTF Teaching Fellowships will be accepted beginning
August 1, 2008.
The application deadline is Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at 5:00pm Eastern Standard Time.
Only online submissions will be considered.
For more information, please contact us at teachers@kstf.org.
Answers to frequently asked questions can be found here .
Criteria
The following criteria and indicators, used in decision making regarding the teaching fellowships, are intended to aid applicants in preparing a competitive application.
Content Knowledge
The 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 a physical science or engineering (physical science fellows), biological science (biology fellows) or mathematical science (mathematics fellows). Indicators of content knowledge include, but are not limited to:
- grades in content courses
- the selection of coursework (breadth, depth and interconnectedness of knowledge)
- participation in research, including initiative to pursue knowledge beyond coursework
- an understanding of what science/mathematics is and what scientists/mathematicians do
- teaching experience in that discipline (indicating depth and flexibility of content knowledge)
- awards and honors
- ability to participate in an informed discussion, both with experts and laypersons, about science or mathematics as a discipline and the specific content that he/she plans to teach.
Commitment to Teaching
Teaching fellows can articulate reasons for choosing high school science or mathematics teaching and have realistic ideas about the work of teachers. They have experience in working with adolescents and/or with teaching and have gained satisfaction and insight from those experiences.
- Fellows have not necessarily “always wanted to teach” but have persuasive reasons for coming to the decision to teach.
- Fellows have made efforts to understand teaching, specifically in high school classrooms, and show respect for the work of teachers.
- A lack of experience with either adolescents or teaching is not necessarily grounds for rejection; rather, the quality of an applicant’s insights is weighed against his/her experience.
- They have realistic ideas about the profession, including an understanding that teaching is hard and that understandings that come easily to them may not to students.
Ability to Teach
Teaching fellows demonstrate mastery of written and oral communication, as evidenced in essays and in speech during phone interviews, casual conversations and in-person interviews. They possess skills critical for teaching, such as the ability to plan and be flexible, deal with failure and learn from new situations. While an applicant’s experience may be limited, potential ability to teach is demonstrated by meeting a majority of these indicators, including demonstrated ability to:
- maintain balance and stay well
- relate to different kinds of people
- speak and write well
- plan and be flexible
- reflect
- deal with and learn from challenges or failure
- transform content knowledge into forms available to students
Leadership
Teaching fellows show potential as leaders through previous leadership roles, including positions of accountability, demonstrated initiative and the ability to be a team player. Fellows are well-rounded individuals who have shown commitment and achievement in a variety of endeavors. They display leadership in their manner of personal interactions, evidence of responsibility and maturity, as well as ethical and professional behavior, and show potential to become leaders in education.
Eligibility
Those KSTF Science and Mathematics Teaching Fellows who are selected to become members of 2009 cohort will be chosen from among young men and women who have earned or are in the process of earning a degree in science, mathematics or engineering from a recognized institution of higher education.
- Biological Sciences for individuals who intend to teach a biological science in a U.S. high school who hold at least a bachelor’s degree in an area of biology and have an understanding of biology as a systematic or model-based discipline.
- Physical Sciences for individuals who intend to teach a physical science (typically earth science, physical science, physics or chemistry) in a U.S. high school with at least a bachelor’s degree in physics, chemistry, some engineering fields or one of the Earth/space sciences.
- Mathematics for individuals who intend to teach mathematics in a U.S. high school with at least a bachelor’s degree in mathematics or the equivalent content background. For example, individuals with at least a bachelor’s degree in engineering or statistics may also be eligible to apply.
Applicants should have received their most recent content (i.e., science, mathematics or engineering) degree within the past five years (between Spring 2003 and Summer 2009). Also an applicant might be in the final year of an undergraduate, master's, combined BS with MAT or MEd program or near the completion of a doctoral program. Applicants who will be in their first year of teaching in academic year 2009-2010 are also eligible. If you are not sure if you are eligible, please read the selection criteria and then contact us at mailto:teachers@kstf.org with any additional questions. The application for a KSTF Teaching Fellowship does not depend on having been admitted to an education program that leads to a science or mathematics teaching license. However, the award of the fellowship does require that the fellow has been admitted to such a program.
Timeline
The timeline for selection of the 2009 Cohorts of Knowles Teaching Fellows is as follows:
- Applications are due January 14, 2009.
- Semi-finalists will be contacted and invited to participate in preliminary telephone interviews in mid-February.
- Finalists will be notified and invited for an interview in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in March 2009.
- Fellowship awards will be announced in April.
- The 2009 Cohorts of Knowles Teaching Fellows will meet for orientation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the first weekend in June 2009.
Teaching Fellowship Application Components
For full consideration, the following materials must be submitted online by January 14, 2009 (only online submissions will be considered):
- Your name, current address, current mailing address, current telephone number and a current email, how you found out about KSTF, and the program (Physical Science, Mathematics or Biological Science) for which you are applying.
- A current resume or vita.
- An essay explaining why you want to become a high school mathematics or science teacher (600 words max)
- An essay summarizing an opportunity you have had to teach or work with children or adolescents such as at a summer camp, church school, volunteer program, athletics or one of many others. As a minimum include a description of what you did, the number of students, the duration of the experiences, something you learned about teaching from this experience and how it influenced your ideas about teaching. (600 words max)
- An essay highlighting a leadership position or position of responsibility that you consider especially meaningful and why. At a minimum, you should describe the position, level of responsibility, the number of people you worked with. What did you learn from this experience and how did it affect your ideas about teaching? (600 words max)
- The names and e-mail addresses of three individuals who are willing to write an online letter of recommendation for you. We recommend that at least one letter be from someone who can comment on your ability to teach and/or work with adolescents. All letters must be submitted online by the author. In addition to the above application components, official transcripts of all university course work should be sent to KSTF at 1000 North Church Street, Moorestown, NJ 08057.
- The online application must be completed and all transcripts must be received by 5:00 pm EST, January 14, 2009. Materials received after the deadline will not be considered.
Click here to begin an online application for the KSTF Teaching Fellowship For further information, contact us at teachers@kstf.org
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