Carnegie Foundation Launches Initiative To Develop the Scholarship of Teaching in K-12 and Teacher Education

Menlo Park, CA, September 1999 -- The Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (CASTL) has launched an ambitious multi-year program to support the scholarship of teaching in K-12 and teacher education. The CASTL Program for K-12 Teachers and Teacher Educators is funded by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

The new program is designed to improve student learning, enhance the practice of teaching, bring to teaching the recognition and reward afforded other forms of scholarly work, and promote changes in the culture of the profession. The program is particularly interested in ensuring that the wisdom of experienced teachers is passed on to the newer generation of teachers now entering the profession.

"Viewing teaching as scholarly work is essential," explained Lee Shulman, president of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. "Teachers so often have to carry out their work in isolation from their colleagues, and, with notable exceptions, their practice is rarely evaluated by professional peers. The result is that those who engage in innovative acts of teaching do not have many opportunities to build upon the work of others. Through CASTL, we seek to render teaching public, subject to critical evaluation, and usable by others in the field and in the research community."

Toward this end, the K-12 Program integrates work on three fronts. The first component is The Carnegie Scholars Program, a national fellowship program that brings together outstanding teachers and teacher educators who are committed to documenting their teaching and sharing it with colleagues. Over a two-year period, the Carnegie Scholars pursue issues pertinent to their classrooms.

For example, one Carnegie Scholar who teaches in the same urban high school that she attended is examining what she can do to help more students of color in her classes perform well on Advanced Placement English exams. Another Carnegie Scholar is drawing upon his experience as a rural elementary school teacher to write a book about the qualities of school culture that promote excellence in critical thinking, creativity, responsibility, and character. One of the Carnegie Scholars who is a teacher educator is analyzing videotapes of her classroom and interviewing students to learn more about how she can help prepare future science teachers.

The second component of the program is the development of key partnerships with a variety of organizations, institutions and networks dedicated to improving teaching and learning.

"Our program is learning from and building upon the work of numerous other scholars and organizations that promote teacher inquiry and research," said Carnegie Foundation Senior Scholar Ann Lieberman, who co-directs the program. "Through our partnership efforts, we hope to support the work of the Carnegie Scholars and many other teacher researchers. We also hope to become a network of networks that are committed to teaching as scholarly work, and ultimately make a difference for students."

The partnerships will help to support the efforts of the Carnegie Scholars and other teachers who are actively examining their teaching and help to disseminate the products the teachers develop to a wide audience.

The third program component is the collection and exhibition of a range of products that make teaching public, so that the expertise of teachers can be shared with other practicing teachers and incorporated into the body of research about teaching. The products, created by the Carnegie Scholars and other teachers, will reflect some of the most innovative and effective means of instruction and assessment in K-12 and teacher education. They will also help to develop and validate new methods for inquiring into teaching and teacher education.

"Some of the products will take the form of written research articles, books, and cases, but CASTL is also committed to helping teachers use video, web sites, and other media to get their ideas across," noted Carnegie Foundation Senior Scholar Tom Hatch, co-director of the program.

CASTL also includes a program in higher education.

The K-12 Teachers and Teacher Educators Carnegie Scholars were nominated by key education leaders across the country and invited to apply to the program. The 20 Carnegie Scholars, chosen from a pool of over 160 nominees, are a diverse group that includes teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, a member of the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, teacher-of-the-year award winners, Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellows, and numerous published authors. While Carnegie Scholars spend the academic year in their own school settings, the program includes two 10-day summer residencies at the Foundation, periodic meetings during the academic year, and regular exchanges through an electronic network.

The 20 Carnegie Scholars are:

K-12 Teachers:

• Ron Berger Shutesbury Elementary School Shutesbury, MA
• Barb Brodhagen Sherman School Madison, WI
• Marlene Carter Dorsey High School Math/Science and Technology Magnet Los Angeles, CA
• Evelyn Jenkins Gunn Pelham Memorial High School Pelham, NY
• Cris Gutierrez Palisades High School Pacific Palisades, CA
• Stan Hitomi Monte Vista High School Danville, CA
• Mary Hurley Arts Magnet School Oakland, CA
• Heidi Lyne Mission Hill School Boston, MA
• Irma Lyons Will Rogers Learning Community Santa Monica, CA
• Ted Nellen Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers New York, NY
• Barbara Parks-Lee District of Columbia Public Schools Washington, DC
• Marsha Pincus J.R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School Philadelphia, PA
• Diane Waff Northeast High School Philadelphia, PA

Teacher Educators:

• Marilyn Cohn Washington University St. Louis, MO
• Christine Cziko University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA
• John Elfrank-Dana Impact II-The Teachers Network New York, NY
• Suzie Henriod Oak Grove School District San Jose, CA
• Nancy Lourie Markowitz San Jose State University San Jose, CA
• Kathy Schultz University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA
• Deb Smith Michigan State University East Lansing, MI

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching was founded in 1905 by Andrew Carnegie "to do all things necessary to encourage, uphold and dignify the profession of teaching." The Foundation is the only advanced study center for teachers in the world and the third oldest foundation in the nation. Its non-profit research activities are produced by a small group of distinguished scholars.

The Carnegie Foundation is governed by an independent, national Board of Trustees, and uses income from its endowment to support its research and publication activities. The Foundation makes no grants.

Press Contact: Gay Clyburn Director of Communications and Information The Carnegie Foundation For the Advancement of Teaching 650/566-5162 clyburn@carnegiefoundation.org

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