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  • November 9, 2009
  • Christine Davis Mantai
Science Mentoring project
Dr. Kathleen Lesniak (left) and Milissa Albano meet with prospective science teachers who will benefit from the NEA grant.

A $5,000 Learning and Leadership Grant for a project designed to enhance the learning of science teacher candidates has been awarded by the National Education Association Foundation to Dr. Kathleen Lesniak of the SUNY Fredonia College of Education and Milissa Albano, a Fredonia alumna and mentor chemistry teacher at Southwestern High School in Lakewood, N.Y.

Budding science educators in Fredonia’s new accelerated Master of Arts in Science Teaching program will benefit from a study group of veteran secondary teachers, led by Dr. Lesniak and Ms. Albano, who will mentor student teachers. As part of the project, the study group will learn about topics and issues related to successful mentoring of preservice science teachers by building on mentor teachers’ knowledge and experiences and incorporating study of best practices. In addition, the use of collaborative lesson study using digital video will allow the mentor teachers to confer explicitly with teacher candidates to improve their teaching knowledge and instruction. Insights gained from this research-based practice will be shared collaboratively and enhance the teaching knowledge of mentor teachers and teacher candidates.

Dr. Lesniak has been a faculty member at SUNY Fredonia since 2004 and since 2006 has served as the program coordinator for the undergraduate science education programs and is implementing the new Master of Arts in Science Teaching program, now in its second year. A teacher for 17 years, Ms. Albano has taught at Southwestern for the past 10 years, currently Regents Chemistry and Living Environment, a biology course. She and Dr. Lesniak have worked together over the past year to provide supportive field and student teaching experiences at Southwestern. Also assisting with the project is another SUNY Fredonia alumna, Jenny Tilaro, who has been a science teacher at Southwestern for the past eight years and “enthusiastically” joined the project. Dr. Lesniak noted the two were pivotal teachers in two workshops she gave for mentor teachers last year and all recently presented their insights on mentoring student teachers during a session at the New York State Science Teachers’ Association Annual Conference.

Dr. Lesniak noted, “This Partners in Science Teacher Education project highlights the important role that mentor teachers play in supporting the developing knowledge of Fredonia’s science education candidates. The project will operate on several levels to support both our mentor teachers and candidates as they work together in the classroom and our program. Our mentor teachers are enthusiastic about collaborating in a learning community where they’ll share their insights and discuss best practices as they support student teachers. In classrooms, our (teacher) candidates will improve their teaching knowledge as they discuss lessons using digital video with their mentors. Our science education candidates will benefit as we work together to strengthen the on-campus and classroom connection.”

Nationwide, the NEA Foundation awarded 51 grants totaling $234,000 to support educators’ ideas to improve teaching and learning or professional development efforts.