The STaR Fellows Program serves to support early-career faculty in mathematics education in hopes of addressing common challenges related to new faculty development in the areas of research, teaching, and service. Among many benefits of the program is the dedicated time and opportunity for Fellows to network with other new mathematics education faculty as part of the Summer Institute. In some cases, that networking leads to long-lasting collaborations. Here, we highlight successful partnerships from past STaR Summer Institutes to illustrate the positive impact of the STaR program.
From the 2015 STaR Cohort: Continuous Improvement and Camaraderie
Dittika Gupta, Lara Dick, Mollie Appelgate, and Melissa Soto first worked together during their Summer Institute in June 2015 when two “Research Interest Groups” (RIGs) merged around a shared interest of supporting preservice elementary teachers to engage with students’ mathematical thinking. This group (along with 2015 Fellow, Shawn Broderick) drew their attention to the construct of teachers’ professional noticing of children’s mathematical thinking.
The format of the Summer Institute itself played a key role in sparking this successful collaboration. “I'm a pretty shy person and will typically not just go up to you and start a conversation, which I feel like you have to do a lot at conferences,” says Melissa Soto. “With STaR, we were with each other for a whole week and that time was dedicated to building relationships, period. Starting our collaboration live and in-person was key in helping us to sustain our collaboration over these past six years. We have only met in person a few times, but because we had that intense first week getting to know each other, this really helped us become more comfortable with each other to be able to continue our work virtually.”
In the initial years following their Summer Institute, the group researched how elementary preservice teachers’ decision-making during whole class discussions relates to their noticing of student thinking. More recently, the research collaboration has, itself, become an object of study and a model from which to learn. Recently, the group has been presenting and publishing on what they call “continuous improvement lesson study,” or “CILS,” including in a forthcoming article in Mathematics Teacher Educator (Dick et al., in press). “One of the best parts of this paper is it gave us the opportunity to explain what we have learned from working together for such a long time,” says Lara Dick. “We are really excited to share the CILS framework with others, as we believe it is a great model for other groups of mathematics teacher educators to adopt.” The group also led a working group on CILS at the 2021 PME-NA conference in October.
Altogether, this collaboration has led to four published or accepted journal articles or book chapters, four additional papers published in conference proceedings, and 16 conference presentations, with more to come. Aside from those research products, though, the collaboration has also served as a support in other ways, professionally and personally. “We have also become really good friends,” Dittika Gupta adds. “We have been there for each other and provided support as each of us navigated the craziness of our lives.” The group continues to meet weekly to continue their research efforts, share resources for teaching, and serve as a constant support for one another.
Having now all earned tenure and promotion at their respective institutions, the individuals in this group continue to credit their collaboration, and the STaR program in general, for continued professional benefits. Fellows from across the cohort continue to meet at conferences to socialize and to learn from each other. Lara Dick continues to value that she, “know[s] there are people with different specialties that we can reach out to for support.” Melissa Soto adds that being able to know people’s work and reference it, “helps to build the reputation of all of us as new faculty members and scholars.”
From the 2018 STaR Cohort: Shared (and Sharing) Experiences in Teaching
Tuyin An, Dan Clark, H. Y. Lee, Emily Miller, and Travis Weiland first met during the 2018 STaR Summer Institute, as part of a “Teaching Interest Group” (TIG) focused on mathematics content courses for elementary preservice teachers (ePTs). “We realized ePTs’ preparation programs are highly varied in the US, in terms of the sequencing, balancing, coverage, and rigor of the mathematical content offered,” says Tuyin An.
Building on this initial work, the group continued to collaborate after their Summer Institute, researching existing literature and reflecting on their collective experiences. Along with conference presentations on the topic, the group published the article “A Discussion of Programmatic Differences within Mathematics Content Courses for Prospective Elementary Teachers” in The Mathematics Educator (An et al., 2021). The article benefited from the support and feedback from STaR mentor, Dr. Marta Civil.
Along with the support of established scholars in the field, the opportunity to connect and build a collaboration at the Summer Institute provided a unique opportunity. “We were able to get to know each other via various activities and build relatively close relationships, as opposed to attending a conference presentation,” says Dan Clark. “At STaR, you have the opportunity to spend a week and make lasting connections with people you have never met before and likely would not have worked with otherwise.”
The COVID-19 pandemic served as a catalyst for a new direction for the collaboration. Throughout Spring 2020, Dan Clark and Tuyin An were particularly interested in the changes in their teaching modalities, and have since published a chapter sharing their experiences with other mathematics teacher educators. The pair is also pursuing funding for a line of work investigating how ePTs interpret mathematics education organizations’ statements about systemic racism with the context of their roles as future mathematics teachers. All the while, they are continuing to advance the original work focused on the preparation of ePTs’ mathematical content knowledge.
Overall, the STaR Program supported a collaboration that has continued to offer positive impacts for its participants. “Through our collaborations and successes, we learned more about each other’s dedication and expertise and supported each other in some of the challenging circumstances of our pre-tenure years,” reflects Tuyin An. “Our collaborative partnership was naturally formed and continues to move in new directions.”
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The STaR Program was originally funded by the National Science Foundation (#0922410) and is now operated under the supervision of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE). Started in 2010, the program has supported nearly 400 Fellows representing 200 institutions of higher education and is currently in the process of selecting its 13th cohort.
The STaR Program is dependent on contributions from individuals, foundations, and professional organizations for its continued operation and to fund cohorts of at least 30 Fellows. Along with matching support from a Fellow’s institution, the cost to support a Fellow is $1700. To make a donation to the STaR Program, visit https://www.amte.net/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=13
References
An, T., Clark, D. Lee, H. Y., Miller, E., & Weiland, T. (2021). A discussion of programmatic differences within mathematics content courses for prospective elementary teachers. The Mathematics Educator, 30(1), 52-70. https://openjournals.libs.uga.edu/tme/article/view/2166/2674
Dick, L. K., Appelgate, M. H., Gupta, D., & Soto, M. M. (In Press). Continuous improvement lesson study: A model of MTE professional development. Mathematics Teacher Educator.