Grant
Expands Science and Technology Outreach
Local teachers decipher an engineering design challenge
during a summer professional development workshop at
Smith. |
With the help of a recent grant from the state Board of
Education for $313,262, Smith, in partnership with the University
of Massachusetts, Amherst, and Greenfield Community College
(GCC), will increase a host of interdisciplinary and interactive
programs that engage K-12 teachers and students in science,
engineering and technology.
The grant is part of a
$3.3 million allotment from the state education board’s
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Pipeline
Fund, an initiative aimed at increasing student interest
and teacher preparation in STEM subjects.
Over the past three years, with the support of the Ford
Motor Company and the GE Foundation, Smith has offered summer
professional development institutes in STEM to more than
70 elementary, middle and high school educators from urban,
rural and suburban schools throughout the Pioneer Valley.
A particular focus of these workshops has been familiarizing
teachers with the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering
Curriculum Frameworks, then providing them with hands-on
experiences and established resources to address the frameworks
in their classrooms.
“Given Smith’s expertise in founding the nation’s
first engineering program for women, these summer workshops
have had an intensive focus on developing an understanding
of the engineering design process, promoting equity within
the STEM classroom, encouraging females and minority students
in STEM study, and becoming familiar with engineering as
a pedagogical tool that integrates various academic disciplines
and provides a mechanism for contextual learning,” said
Gail Scordilis, director of educational outreach at Smith,
who collaborated on the grant proposal.
The new grant links Smith’s ongoing outreach efforts
to a National Science Foundation project at UMass and GCC
called “STEM Research Academies for Young Scientists” (STEMRAYS). “Through
our collaboration with our higher ed partners in the valley,
we hope to work even more intensively with middle school
science and technology teachers and students,” said
Scordilis.
Specifically, the grant
will provide funding for the professional development of
teachers and after-school enrichment programs in STEM subjects
for students at Northampton’s John
F. Kennedy Middle School and Amherst Regional Middle School.
Thomas Gralinski, retired
head of the Amherst Regional High School Computer Science,
Business and Technology Department, who now serves as the
K-12 Engineering Curriculum Specialist in Smith’s
Office of Educational Outreach, will be Smith’s liaison
to these schools and to others throughout Franklin County
for this project. “An award-winning
and gifted teacher, Tom has extensive experience in the pre-engineering
and technology classroom,” said Scordilis. “His
in-depth understanding of the curriculum frameworks will
ensure that students and teachers in and around the Smith
community receive heightened access to high-quality resources
in science, engineering and technology.”
For more information
about the STEM grant and other outreach efforts in the sciences
and engineering at Smith, , or contact the Office
of Educational Outreach, ext. 3060, or edoutreach@smith.edu. |
