Grant funds new programs
The National Science Foundation awarded the University of Indianapolis a $150,000 grant to further develop its science, technology, engineering and mathematics teacher preparation programs in August.
The grant was drafted by College of Arts and Sciences Acting Dean and Woodrow Wilson Program Director Jennifer Drake, Department of Chemistry Chair Katherine Stickney and Department of Teacher Education Chair Beverly Reitsma.
“We were already a center for STEM education because of the Woodrow Wilson program that we have here, so we wrote the NSF grant to apply for funds to redesign our science education majors,” Stickney said.
The University of Indianapolis was chosen as a grant recipient by the NSF as a result of UIndy’s development of an innovative Teacher Education curriculum and the quality and success of the Woodrow Wilson program.
Nationwide, 53 grants were given in 2011, but UIndy is the only NSF grant recipient in Indiana.
The grant funds will be used to lay the foundation for the yearlong renovation of the teacher preparation program, which will focus on science education high-need schools districts.
The institutions the program will partner with are Christel House Academy, and Perry, Wayne and Decatur township schools. Additionally, the NSF grant will help to secure the university’s involvement in the Robert Noyce Scholarship program.
“The purpose of the Noyce program is to provide scholarship money and other support for students who want to major in science education,” Stickney said. “The NSF grant will help to fund their education if they commit to teaching in a high-need school for three years following graduation. And we want to encourage students to remain committed to teaching even after the initial three years.”
Stemming from the success of the Woodrow Wilson Indiana Teaching Fellowship—a yearlong STEM education residency—this grant will further define the framework of the program and allow the UIndy faculty involved to establish the infrastructure for it. In order to initiate the Noyce program, funds from a second grant will be necessary.
Reitsma serves on the program’s curriculum committee and plans to work with the admissions office to promote among prospective Noyce Scholars.
“We aim to increase the number of well-prepared science teachers who are ready to work in high-need areas,” Reitsma said.
Another aspect of the program that will be made possible by the NSF grant is the redevelopment of the chemistry teaching and life science teaching majors at UIndy. Like Stickney and Reitsma, Angelia Ridgway, director of secondary education, is passionate about teaching.
“Science is one of the highest need areas for secondary teachers,” she said. “More than 50 percent of teachers in urban districts have less than five years of experience. This program will be driven by clinical experience instead of coursework, and it will give students an opportunity to use what they are learning in the field.”
Currently, Stickney is focused on identifying community partners and establishing an internship for Noyce Scholars. Her goal is to equip undergraduate students with the skillset necessary to enhance STEM education.
“What we aspire to do by creating this program,” Stickney said. “Is improve the quality of students from the ground up.”
