UA Awarded Grant for Graduate Teaching Fellows in Middle and High School Education

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama has been awarded a $1.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Graduate Education to establish a new three-year program to enhance the education of students from 6th grade through graduate school.

The focus of the program addresses science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, and the theme concentrates on the automotive industry, a presence that is growing dramatically in Alabama. Faculty from UA’s colleges of Engineering, Education and Arts and Sciences are participating in this interdisciplinary program. The group will also be working with UA’s Center for Advanced Vehicles Technologies.

“Students currently in middle and high schools are the future workforce in Alabama,” said Dr. Beth Todd, associate professor of mechanical engineering at UA and principal investigator of the project. “The goal is to help increase the math and science knowledge of our future automotive industry leaders through the interaction of high school and college students.”

Undergraduate and graduate students in mechanical engineering, chemical engineering and mathematics will work with science and mathematics teachers in Tuscaloosa’s city and county schools. The program begins with a Summer Institute allowing teachers and fellows to interact and to tour UA’s labs and the local automotive industry.

UA students will develop learning modules that will be used in the classroom to support the education of students. These materials include power point slides, project notes, educational objectives, homework assignments and handouts. All of these will incorporate how science and math are integrated in the automotive industry. Following evaluation of materials in classrooms in the local schools, the materials will be disseminated through UA’s Center for Communication and Educational Technology reaching teachers and students in 20 states and Canada.

The overall goals of the graduate teaching fellows program are to reform and broaden graduate education and to increase scientific literacy of 6th through 12th graders. The project will expand graduate education through outreach experiences for graduate students while bringing exciting and cutting-edge science and engineering topics into middle and high school classrooms. The program is expected to contribute significantly to the development of the Alabama workforce.

Todd also said the project will expose students to science, mathematics and technology knowledge required by those in the automotive industry. This program will help middle and high school students gain advanced academic competencies and understand how academic ideas work in the real world.

Schools chosen to participate in the project include Bryant High School (in the Tuscaloosa City School System), and Hillcrest High School (Tuscaloosa County School System).