Grant to Fund the Future of Science Education

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The National Science Foundation has awarded the University of Arkansas a three-year, $749,856 grant to fund scholarships for students preparing to become teachers in mathematics or science.

At least 36 future teachers will receive scholarships in a Phase I grant through the NSF’s Robert Noyce Scholarship Program. These students will complete the nationally recognized master of arts in teaching program at the university, making them eligible to teach mathematics or science in Arkansas’ secondary schools.

The scholarships will be available to three types of students: those who have completed an undergraduate degree in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and would like to teach but do not have the financial means to pursue teacher preparation; professionals seeking a career change; and students near the end of their junior year who demonstrate an aptitude for teaching and are considering it as a career. The program would support such students during their senior and master’s years.

Physical science and mathematics students funded under Noyce Scholarships will be required to participate in projects in which they build low-cost experiments that could be used in a classroom and are relevant to today’s applied science and mathematics.

Arkansas public schools are in dire need of a greater number of qualified teachers because students are not performing at proficient levels in mathematics and science. According to the National Office for Research, Measurement and Evaluation Systems, the percentage of Arkansas students at each particular level scoring proficient or above on the 2004 mathematics benchmark exam was grade four, 65 percent; grade six, 41 percent; grade eight, 32 percent; algebra I, 53 percent; and geometry, 47 percent. On the 2005 National Assessment for Education Progress, only 24 percent of Arkansas fourth and eighth graders scored proficient or above. Weaker performance is also predicted on the science benchmark exams to be given this year.

“After they complete all program requirements, scholarship recipients will take positions in high need schools, where they will be assisted in their initial years of teaching. The project will also provide a discussion board to allow graduates to share ideas, ask questions and reflect on their experiences,” said Gay Stewart, principal investigator of the grant.

In addition, ongoing research will focus on the issues graduates encounter with mastering pedagogical content knowledge, which has been shown to be highly correlated with student success.

“We hope to empower many more of Arkansas’ youth to achieve careers in these disciplines by providing high quality science and mathematics instruction in Arkansas’ secondary schools,” said Stewart, associate professor of physics in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

The university has been working for the last six years to improve the numbers of physics and physical science teachers as one of the primary program institutions in the Physics Teacher Education Coalition program funded by the National Science Foundation. This program has supported the existing collaboration between faculty in Fulbright College and the College of Education and Health Professions who are working together on initiatives to prepare students for careers teaching in the sciences.

Co-principal investigators include Dennis Brewer, associate vice provost for research; Po —Hao Huang, assistant professor of mechanical engineering; Deborah Korth, director of the Mathematics Resources Tutoring Center; and Michael Wavering, associate professor of curriculum and instruction.

“Once these students complete the master’s program, they can have an impact on schools that might not otherwise have science and math teachers as well-trained as these,” Wavering said. “These folks are making a two-year commitment to work in schools that serve high minority populations or schools with a high percentage of children who qualify for free or reduced lunch.”