In year two of the Knowles Teaching Fellowship, Fellows are introduced to the disciplinary practices described in the 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematics Discussions (2011). The use of these practices supports Knowles Fellows in establishing inquiry-oriented classrooms that engage students in authentic mathematics in ways that are aligned with the changing landscape of education in the U.S.

Knowles Fellow Emma Vierheller, 2012 Cohort, has been using the 5 Practices in her classroom for the last five years. She attributes the shift in focus in her classroom to building community instead of accuracy and speed to her use of the 5 Practices. Additionally, it has shifted her students’ thinking about what it means to do math and to do it well. Armed with the confidence of being supported by a community, her students have become more willing to try intimidating tasks. Knowing that her students can receive direct instruction from a number of different sources, Emma is grateful for how the 5 Practices have helped her to internatilize her role as a mathematical guide to her students.

After being introduced to Complex Instruction, a teaching strategy that promotes equitable classroom culture, in year three of the Fellowship, Knowles Fellows Camden Hanzlick-Burton and Laura Wang (2012 Cohort)—along with Bernice O’Brien (2013 Cohort) and Lauren Kline (2014 Cohort)—were excited about what they learned and wanted to implement this strategy in their classrooms. As they worked towards implementation, they noticed that additional courses and supports existed only in mathematics. Camden, Laura, Bernice and Lauren recognized a need for science teachers across the country to utilize teaching strategies that equitably address all students’ access to learning opportunities. To address this issue, the group successfully applied for a Seed Project Grant from Knowles to extend this work into science, creating a community of educators interested in enacting the practices of Complex Instruction through the development of a Knowles Academy course. Over the next year, the group met three times in person to plan their course. In summer 2018, they facilitated their first course in Moorestown, New Jersey. They have since offered it in 2019 and are slated to offer it in 2020.

In an effort to strengthen the teaching profession, Knowles launched the Practitioner Inquiry for the Next Generation (PING) program in summer 2011. Conceived as a two-year program, PING ran for three years, with 10 Knowles Fellows who were selected as participants. Over the duration of the program, Knowles Fellows conducted systematic inquiry into their teaching practice, grounded in the ideas developed by Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Susan Lytle in their book Inquiry as Stance (2009). In year one, PING participants focused on forming questions about their practice and exploring the range of types of evidence they could examine related to their questions, with an emphasis on close observation and field notes/journaling of observations. In year two, they conducted deeper explorations of their ever-evolving inquiry questions and gathered various forms of peer review of evidence. In the final year of the program, participants identified a portion of their inquiry to share with a broader audience and began drafting articles and/or presentations. By summer 2014, Fellows shared their learnings in the form of four conference presentations and two published journal articles. Additionally, PING deepened the organization’s belief in the value of teacher-generated knowledge, leading to the addition of inquiry as a key thread of the Knowles Teaching Fellows Program and the idea to create a journal to share teacher knowledge.

In 2014, Knowles published the inaugural issue of its new journal—Kaleidoscope: Educator Voices and Perspectives. Kaleidoscope is a Senior Fellow-led initiative that explores knowledge from, for, and about teaching, from the point of view of current and former secondary science and mathematics teachers. Kaleidoscope provides readers and writers a public space for discourse and dialogue about the knowledge and expertise of teachers and the complexity of the teaching profession. Now in its sixth year of operation, the journal has published 70 teacher-written articles. In addition to publishing the journal, the Kaleidoscope editorial board has organized other efforts to foster a spirit of storytelling at Knowles, including several forums at the annual Knowles Summer Conference. Additionally, the Kaleidoscope editorial board facilitates an annual writing retreat that provides teachers with the opportunity to explore their practice through writing. Initially funded by a Knowles Seed Project Grant, writing retreat participants work throughout the year in small collaborative groups to learn about the writing process and their own identities and practices as teachers. Since 2016, 35 teachers have participated in the writing retreat.

Practitioner inquiry is one of two key leadership development threads that is woven through all five years of the Knowles Teaching Fellowship. Through the use of practitioner inquiry, Knowles Fellows generate invaluable knowledge as they systematically examine their teaching practice. In the fifth year of the Fellowship, Fellows select a topic for a year-long inquiry project that they share with other members of the Knowles community upon completion.

Introduced in 2014, the Knowles Coaching Institute was designed to increase the use of peer coaching among Fellows and in broader educational contexts, and enhance the climate of shared and reflective professional practice in the community. Through the Coaching Institute, Knowles Senior Fellows support other Fellows who have been selected to present their learnings at the annual Knowles Summer Conference. Since its inception, 50 Senior Fellows have been trained as peer coaches in four Coaching Institutes. After the first two years of the institute, participants expressed a desire for longer-term partnerships in coaching, allowing for multiple cycles of coaching to occur. To meet this need, returning coaches developed a Coaching Partnership Program that partners Teaching Fellows with Senior Fellow coaches for one school year. During the year, the pair will go through at least two cycles of planning, observation, and reflection. Since its launch in 2016, 19 coaches have supported 20 teachers. Additionally, in summer 2019, a Knowles Academy course, Implementing Teacher Coaching to Improve Classroom Practice and Student Learning, was piloted. Taught by two Senior Fellows, the course was attended by 13 teachers, including 10 who are new members of the Knowles community.

In July 2013, Knowles launched a task force to explore the integration of engineering design into high school mathematics and science courses, as proposed by the Next Generation Science Standards. Seeing a need for engineering resources generated by teachers who are still in the classroom, 19 Senior Fellows attended the task force kick off meeting. Over the next two years, the task force drafted multiple tools for teaching, including a framework for engineering design and a rubric to assess project design and student work. Additionally, they piloted professional development strategies with school and district colleagues. Seeking to expand their impact on science and mathematics education beyond the Knowles community, the group set out to design, pilot, and begin sharing a set of engineering resources for teachers at local and national teacher conferences and in publication. During fiscal year 2016, Knowles Senior Fellows facilitated two professional development sessions for teachers that leveraged materials that were developed by the group.

In July 2015, Knowles launched Project ASCENT (Achieving STEM Course Effectiveness through Networked Teachers). Through Project ASCENT, Knowles brought teachers’ considerable professional knowledge and skills to bear on a problem that has broad and deep consequences for the nation—too few students are successful science, technology, engineering and mathematics learners at the high school level. Five self-organized teams composed of more than 25 teachers and others connected to secondary mathematics and science education leveraged improvement science to work toward the network’s goal of increasing the number of high school students experiencing high-quality STEM education. With teams made up of Knowles Fellows and colleagues, Project ASCENT was the first Knowles initiative to include non-Fellow participants. While the program concluded in 2018, it reinforced the importance of collaboration in bringing about meaningful and lasting change in classrooms and in schools. It also led to the decision to allow Fellows to utilize Knowles professional development grant funds to bring colleagues to training, thereby increasing the impact of the organization on the broader teaching profession. 

At Knowles, all Fellows are eligible to receive funding to support their efforts to achieve National Board certification, an advanced teaching credential that demonstrates proven impact on student learning and achievement. Administered by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards, National Board Certification involves completion of a rigorous, performance-based, peer-review process. The certification process requires candidates to submit a portfolio that contains evidence of differentiation in instruction, student engagement, and their ability to act as an effective and reflective practitioner. Additionally, content knowledge must be demonstrated through completion of a computer-based assessment. In addition to financial assistance and writing support, Knowles provides funding for a support group for Fellows.