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WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY WORKS TO IMPROVE MATH AND SCIENCE EDUCATION IN PATERSON AND PASSAIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS
—Grants from U.S. Department of Education and N.J. Department of Education focus on meeting need for highly qualified math and science teachers
William Paterson University in Wayne is seeking to improve the teaching of math and science in urban schools, particularly the Paterson and Passaic school districts, through two multimillion-dollar grant-funded projects.
“As a public university, we feel an obligation to support educational quality in area schools, as well as to prepare teacher candidates in areas of shortage,” says Ana Maria Schumann, interim dean of the University’s College of Education, which is partnering with William Paterson’s College of Science and Health for both grant projects. “Highly qualified math and science teachers are a critical need, and we are committed to working with these school districts to further strengthen the teaching of math and science in these school systems.”
Beginning this spring, the University is stepping up its recruitment of students interested in becoming math and science teachers thanks to a five-year, $1.6 million Teachers for a Competitive Tomorrow: Mathematics and Science Teachers (MAST) grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
“The goal of the grant is to increase the number of science and math majors seeking certification by sixty percent, or forty students, over the five-year period,” says Jean Fuller-Stanley, associate dean of the College of Science and Health. “Students who participate will be strongly encouraged to commit to teaching in Paterson, Passaic, or another high-need school system for two years after graduation.”
Through the grant, participating students will receive additional academic support, the opportunity to conduct research in science, math or teaching methodologies. The students will also be assigned to the same high-need school for both the practicum and student teaching experiences under the supervision of a mentor, who will continue to provide support during their first year as novice teachers.
The University is also working to provide professional development and graduate courses for current Paterson and Passaic teachers to become highly qualified by enhancing their math and science skills. Approximately forty teachers from the two school districts who teach math or science in grades three through eight are involved in the project, which is funded by a three-year, $1.5 million New Jersey Department of Education grant titled REFORMS: Reclaiming Educational Foundations of Rigorous Math and Science.
Martin Becker, a professor of environmental science, is the science and math academic coordinator for the grant, which is in its second year. “The goal is to add to the teachers’ content knowledge, as well as provide hands-on activities they can use in their classrooms,” he says. Becker, who is an expert on fossils, is currently organizing two professional development days—a trip to the American Museum of Natural History to study dinosaurs, and a subsequent day collecting fossils in eastern Pennsylvania.
In addition to the professional development days, teachers enroll in a two-week summer workshop, which this year will focus on integrated math and science activities. William Paterson faculty, including Becker, Melkamu Zeleke, mathematics; Marie Donnantuono, elementary and early childhood education; Dorothy Feola, associate dean, College of Education; and Sandra DeYoung, dean, College of Science and Health, serve as a coaching team for the teachers, providing support for the teachers who are incorporating new content and pedagogy into their classes.
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April 13 , 2009
www.wpunj.edu
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