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Michigan Tech Receives Stimulus Funding for Teacher Education
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JUNE 5, 2009--Nearly $1 million of federal stimulus money has found its way to Michigan Technological University for a scholarship program that focuses on increasing the number and quality of teachers of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the state.
Brad Baltensperger, chair of the Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences, says the National Science Foundation is providing $900,000 over the next five years to train students and professionals to teach STEM disciplines in high schools.
Twenty-four students and 12 professionals will be recruited for the program. The undergraduate students will receive up to $10,000 a year for two years; the professionals will receive up to $18,000 for one year.
"This is pretty exciting," Baltensperger said. "It's a great use of stimulus money. A stronger cadre of teachers will help diversify the STEM-related workforce, energize local economies and support national competitiveness."
He said the program addresses a "gradual but steady decline," both statewide and nationally, in the numbers of STEM educators. "There is a need for highly competent science and math teachers, especially at the high school level."
The NSF, he said, "wants to increase that pool of teachers and to encourage people to stay with the profession" by helping them succeed.
The initiative will supply STEM teachers for "high-need" urban and rural schools that have difficulty recruiting highly qualified science and mathematics teachers.
Tech's program targets the Saginaw and Grand Rapids areas and includes extensive collaboration with two school districts, two community colleges and two universities in those cities.
Participants will be recruited from the Tech student body, high schools, community colleges (especially Delta and Grand Rapids Community Colleges) and professionals in the STEM fields who want to switch careers and become teachers.
Undergraduate students will participate in the program for their junior and senior years. In return for two years of scholarship support, they will be required to teach in a high-need school for four years. STEM professionals will participate for one year and will be required to teach in a high-need school for two years. Should graduates not fulfill those responsibilities, the scholarship becomes a loan that they have to repay.
Helping student teachers will be education faculty at Michigan Tech, Saginaw Valley State University and Grand Valley State University who will visit, monitor and encourage student teachers as well as graduates of the program who are entering the teaching profession.
"New teachers can feel overwhelmed," Baltensperger said. "Teachers in difficult school settings are much more likely to persist in that job if they have help. We're trying to provide a support network." That will include an on-site mentor, regular visits by teacher education faculty and an online graduate course focused on effective teaching, working with diverse learners and communicating with parents.
Another partnership is with the Saginaw and Grand Rapids public school districts. "They have agreed to take our students for field experiences and for student teaching," Baltensperger said. "They will accept student teachers, provide them support and guidance from district teachers and look to our students when they hire new teachers."
Overall, some teachers struggle to teach STEM course work, Baltensperger said. "It goes beyond knowledge of the discipline. How do you teach in a way that students can learn? These problems aren't usually about content. You don't just tell them more about it. It's usually a problem of trying to convey knowledge. They need more mentoring, training, support and reinforcement."
The goals of the program are broadly based:
* increase the number of excellent secondary teachers in STEM
* strengthen the academic performance of urban students in STEM disciplines
* improve students' attitudes toward STEM fields
* create a pipeline of students, especially female and underrepresented minorities, for Michigan Tech
Faculty at Tech in mathematics, the sciences and engineering will provide background support and help choose scholarship recipients.
Baltensperger is the coordinator of the NSF program, which is named after Robert Noyce, the late inventor of the integrated circuit (or microchip), who was called "the mayor of Silicon Valley." Other leaders for the project include Chris Anderson, special assistant to the president; Shari Stockero, assistant professor of mathematics education; Sarah Green, chair of chemistry; and John Jaszczak, professor of physics. |
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