Darrell Vincent, a Project Lead The Way (PLTW) teacher at Bullitt East High School (Bullitt County), has been selected as a Project Lead The Way master teacher.

Vincent, who has taught in Bullitt East’s PLTW engineering program for two years, was one of 90 teachers selected from more than 150 applicants to be apprentice master teachers. These first-year master teachers will teach alongside and apprentice a veteran master teacher in 2016 before becoming veteran master teachers in 2017.

PLTW is a nonprofit organization that provides transformational learning experiences to K-12 students and teachers across the United States through pathways in computer science, engineering and biomedical science. PLTW master teachers prepare classroom teachers with the knowledge and skills needed to lead PLTW’s learning experiences for K-12 students. There are currently 565 PLTW master teachers in the U.S.

During PLTW’s classroom teacher training and beyond, master teachers lead their fellow teachers through the curricular content and activities and empower them to take on the role of classroom facilitator and coach. Throughout the school year, master teachers offer ongoing support through online professional learning communities, email and phone calls. They also teach PLTW classes themselves.

The criteria for becoming a master teacher includes:

  • Being a champion of PLTW programs and the organization’s mission to prepare students with the knowledge and skills to thrive in an evolving world
  • Possessing strong pedagogical content knowledge
  • Demonstrating exemplary instructional abilities
  • Exhibiting a knowledge and awareness of not only teaching students, but also adult learners
  • Using reflecting as an agent for change