PROM/SE Overview: News and Outreach: Media Coverage
MSU News
MSU, PARTNERS RECEIVE $35 MILLION TO IMPROVE SCIENCE AND MATH EDUCATION
10/2/2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The National Science Foundation has awarded $35 million to a team of educators - including Michigan State University experts - to improve science and math teaching and achievement in K-12 schools.
The five-year project, funded under the NSF's Math and Science Partnerships (MSP) Program, will impact about 400,000 students and more than 5,000 teachers in about 70 Michigan and Ohio school districts.
"This project reflects MSU's abiding interest in education reform and teacher preparation," MSU President Peter McPherson said. "It also reaffirms the depth and breadth of our commitment to prepare students to succeed in a demanding and competitive world."
The project, Promoting Rigorous Outcomes in Mathematics and Science Education (PROM/SE), involves partnerships between MSU's colleges of education and natural science; Michigan's Ingham, Calhoun and St. Clair County intermediate school districts; and Ohio's High AIMS Consortium (in the Cincinnati area) and SMART Consortium (in the Cleveland area).
Over this five-year project, MSU faculty from the sciences, mathematics and education will work together with teachers and administrators to improve math and science teaching and learning in grades K-12. The project will focus on collecting evidence from students and teachers, determining what their needs are, and providing the resources to improve their knowledge of math and science.
"This grant is an affirmation of our strength and the passion MSU has for making a difference in the lives of children every day," Provost Lou Anna K. Simon said. "This is also an affirmation of the intellectual strength of the university and the project's leadership."
The school districts involved in the project represent a broad range of social, economic and cultural characteristics - from large, urban cities to suburbs to rural areas.
"This is an exciting opportunity to bring together university expertise in mathematics, science and education with colleagues in K-12 schools across Michigan and Ohio to truly make a difference for students and teachers," said Joan Ferrini-Mundy, associate dean for science and mathematics education in the College of Natural Science, and a co-principal investigator. "With the incredible level of support that the National Science Foundation is providing, we intend to help thousands of students have the opportunity to learn significant mathematics and science."
There certainly is a great deal of evidence available to suggest how much the American educational system is failing our children, especially in the areas of mathematics and science, said Distinguished Professor William Schmidt, co-director of the Education Policy Center at MSU, and a co-principal investigator.
"This grant provides us with the resources we need to conduct much needed research to determine the best way to improve learning," Schmidt said.
"As a result of that research, together with our school partners, we will begin to develop systemic models for making needed improvements. Our central focus is to seek improvement for all children, especially those who have traditionally been left behind. This is our moral imperative." (This article was originally written for newsroom.msu.edu)