ASU awarded $595K contract for joint STEM project

SAN ANGELO, Texas ( Concho Valley Homepage ) — Sonoma State University has awarded Angelo State University a $595,000 contract for a joint project designed to help local and area middle schools improve students’ success in the sciences and provide professional development opportunities for science teachers.

ASU stated that the project, titled “STEM and Computing Education Support (STEMACES),” is an overall five-year project that is being funded by a $7.9 million grant from the United States Department of Education. ASU’s portion of the project will target eighth graders in San Angelo schools and area school districts, particularly districts in rural areas and those with substantial low-income and other underrepresented student populations.

SSU initiated a similar project 10 years ago, titled “Learning by Making.” The project is aimed at ninth graders and utilizes multiple U.S. Department of Education grants to build software, curriculum and other learning tools to support it.

ASU will help adapt these elements into an eighth-grade model for improved learning in science, specifically computational thinking. The model to be implemented in San Angelo and area schools includes:

• An innovative eighth-grade curriculum
• Teacher professional development
• Ongoing teacher and student support

“Often, middle school science teachers are teaching multiple STEM courses that may or may not be in their area of expertise,” Dr. Kenneth Carrell, principal investigator for the ASU project, associate professor of physics and director of the ASU Planetarium, said. “By helping them enhance their abilities and then providing ongoing support as they deliver this innovative curriculum, we will build lasting partnerships that benefit students and teachers throughout West Texas.”

Dr. Michael Holcomb, assistant professor of physics, is the co-investigator for the ASU project. He and Carrell will work with local and area school districts and the Region 15 Education Service Center to recruit middle school teachers and students into the STEMACES program later this fall.

The teachers will be exposed to the learning tools and curriculum during comprehensive summer sessions, and the program will also provide them with a stipend. The goal over the project’s lifetime is to reach 40 participating schools.

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