Wipro SEF Program

Wipro Program logo

Now in Phase III, the Montclair State University Wipro Science Education Fellowship (SEF) is a professional development program designed to support experienced K–12 science teachers as teacher leaders within their districts. The program was originally developed by UMass Boston and was implemented in similar ways across seven universities. The program works with teachers of various disciplines and grade levels from five high-need school districts. It is funded by Wipro Limited, a global information technology and consulting corporation with a vested interest in public education in both India and the US. The $561,630 funded for Phase III, running March 1, 2022 through June 30, 2026, will allow the program to expand its reach to more teachers, additional disciplines, and new districts, all with the goal of creating sustainable structures for teacher leadership within districts.

The Team

Colette Killian

  • CSAM/PRISM Business Administrator/Assistant to Director
  • PRISM Assistant Director of Budget and Grants
  • Wipro Project Manager
  • IRES Project Coordinator
  • Secondary STEM Project Manager
  • Postlewaite Grants and Budget Coordinator
  • RYTE Assistant Director of Budget and Grants
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The project involves more than 60 teachers from high-needs schools in Clifton, Montclair, Kearny, Paramus and Orange, who were chosen “on the strength of their applications, enthusiasm and past relationship with the University,” says Taylor.  In addition to the research conducted by the external evaluation team, the Montclair State faculty will research the impact of the program on teachers’ attitudes, beliefs and practices. As a partnership with the University of Massachusetts-Boston and Mercy College, the project promotes collaboration throughout its duration, culminating in an end-of-the-year conference with participating teachers from both universities.

We hope to form a professional community of science teachers, where they are encouraged to share their research and form ties in professional organizations. By the end, we hope they will say ‘this program allowed me to implement an education method I never would have tried without the support.’ The ultimate goal is to strengthen the school districts through a grassroots approach that will allow teachers to become leaders within the classroom.

- Dr. Mika Munakata

Publications and Presentations

  • Limbere, A.M., Munakata, M., Klein, E.J., & Taylor, T. (2022) Exploring the tensions science teachers navigate as they enact their visions for science teaching: what their feedback can tell us. International Journal of Science Education, DOI: 10.1080/09500693.2022.2105413
  • Taylor, M., Klein, E. J., Trabona, K., & Munakata, M. (2022). Feminist teacher leadership: Disrupting the patriarchal binary. In N. Bond (Ed). The power of teacher leaders: Their roles, influence, and impact. 2nd edition (pp. 213–225). Routledge.
  • Taylor, M., Klein, E. J., Munakata, M., Trabona, K., Rahman, Z., & McManus, J. (2019). Professional development for teacher leaders: using activity theory to understand the complexities of sustainable change. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 22(6), 685–705. DOI: 10.1080/13603124.2018.1492023
  • Trabona, K., Taylor, M., Klein, E., Munakata, M. & Rahman, Z. (2019) Collaborative professional learning: cultivating science teacher leaders through vertical communities of practice. Professional Development in Education, 45(3), 472-487, DOI: 10.1080/19415257.2019.1591482
  • Klein, E. J., Taylor, M., Munakata, M., Trabona, K., Rahman, Z., & McManus J. (2018). Navigating teacher leaders’ complex relationships using a distributed leadership framework. Teacher Education Quarterly, 45(2), 89–112.
  • Rahman, Z .G., Munakata, M., Klein, E. J., Taylor, M., & Trabona, K. (2018). Growing our own: Fostering teacher leadership in K-12 science teachers through school-university partnerships. In J. Hunzicker (Ed.), Teacher Leadership in Professional Development Schools (pp. 235-253). Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing.
  • Limbere, A., Munakata, M., Klein, E. J., & Taylor, M. (2021, Apr. 9). Exploring experienced science teachers’ vision for science teaching. National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST) Annual International Conference, online.
  • Limbere, A., Munakata, M., Klein, E. J., & Taylor, M. (2021, Apr. 12). Teacher noticing and leveraging of student thinking in science lessons and debriefs of classroom videos [Conference session]. Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), online
  • Taylor, M., Klein, E. J. , Mazol, D., & Goffredo, M. (2018, June 4th). Science Teacher Leadership. New Jersey Teacher Leadership Network, New Jersey Department of Education. Trenton, NJ.
  • Taylor, M., & Klein, E. J. (2018, May 7th). The complexities of teacher leadership within a distributed leadership framework. Keynote address at BUILD convening conference at Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ.
  • Rahmen, Z., Munakata, M., Taylor, M., Klein, E.J., & Trabona, K. (2018). What do emerging science teacher leaders talk about? Unpacking feedback in a vertically aligned PLC. Paper presented at American Educational Research Association, NY, New York (April 13-17, 2018).
  • Munakata, M., Taylor, M., Klein, E.J., Rahman, Z., & Trabona, K. (2017). Supporting and developing K-12 Science teacher practice, knowledge, and leadership through vertically aligned PLCs. Paper submitted to the National Association of Research in Science Teaching for the 2017 annual meeting in San Antonio, TX (April 22 – April 25, 2017).
  • Trabona, K, Rahman, Z., Taylor, M., Munakata, M., & Klein, E. J. (2017). Navigating teacher leader identities through vertical teams. Paper submitted to the International Teacher Leadership Conference, Miami, Fl. *Received Award for Best Academic Paper.
  • Taylor, M., Munakata, M., Klein, E. J., Rahman, Z., & Trabona, K. (2017, Apr. 28). Collaborative professional learning: Cultivating science teacher leaders through vertical learning communities [Conference session]. Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), San Antonio, TX.
  • Klein, E. J., Taylor, M., Munakata, M., McManus J., Rahman, Z., & Trabona, K. (2016). Nurturing teacher leaders through actions and agency: A differentiated science teacher leadership program. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association, Washington D.C.
  • Taylor, M., Klein, E. J., Munakata, M., Kurland, S., Trabona, K., & McManus, J. (2015, April). Fostering science teacher leadership for sustainable change. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.
  • Klein, E.J., Taylor, M., Boriello, R., Costello, C., Mahfouz, A., & Weeg, J. (2015, February). Owning our professional development: Becoming science teacher leaders. Paper presented at the Ethnography in Education Forum, Philadelphia, PA.