How M3T Works:
Teacher leadership, connection, retention and improvement drives deeper student engagement and better math outcomes
Mountaineer Mathematics Master Teachers (M3T) is a statewide Network Improvement Community (NIC) working to strengthen middle and high school math teaching and learning across West Virginia. M3T is led by West Virginia middle and secondary teachers, serving as Math Teacher Leaders (MTLs), who are supported with annual $10,000 stipends and ongoing coaching from the project lead, to lead professional development and teacher collaboration outside school hours. This approach keeps professional development dollars not only in WV, but in the hands of teachers.
Teachers work in teams to identify problems, research solutions, and test changes in short 2-4 week classroom cycles using common measures. Student survey data guides whether changes are adopted, adapted, or abandoned. Statewide team meetings share feedback and spread the most promising ideas quickly across district lines, ensuring improvements are grounded in real-time student experience.
“My drive to join M3T came from a desire to grow, to engage deeply with other mathematics educators, and to “do” teaching differently than I had before. During my first seven years of teaching, I often felt like we were meeting, but not truly improving students’ opportunities to think and reason mathematically. I knew I was missing something, but I didn’t know how to shift my practice. It felt like I needed an overhaul, but I didn’t know where to begin. This network didn’t just meet my expectations, it exceeded them. Now, I cannot imagine teaching without it. M3T has infiltrated every aspect of my practice. My classroom is almost unrecognizable from what it was before. My students engage in genuine thinking and learning. They make meaningful connections rather than simply mimicking procedures. That transformation has not only strengthened my students’ experiences but has sustained and fulfilled me as a teacher. M3T is not simply something I value; it is something this team has claimed as meaningful and worth sustaining.” -M3T Math Teacher Leader
M3T is by teachers and for teachers, and centers the student experience in math classrooms. M3T participants operate in two teacher-led teams during an academic year. Local Improvement Teams (LITs) survey students about their experience in math class. Grade-level Improvement Teams (GrITs) analyze high-stakes test data.
