2009-2010 STEM Grants
Eleven faculty members have been awarded grants totaling $305,000 from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system office to advance faculty-led teaching and learning initiatives in science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses, known also as STEM courses.
Administered by the system’s Center for Teaching and Learning and the P-16 Collaboration unit, the 2008-2009 instructional development grants were selected from 39 applications. The awardees are:
Andrew Ferstl, Winona State University
Teaching and Learning Science with Learning Assistants, a project that will employ Learning Assistants (LAs) in an integrated science classroom for pre-service elementary school teachers. LAs attend class, help mentor students through science activities, and serve as a liaison between students and instructors. $8,000.00.
Linda Fuselier, Minnesota State University Moorhead
Studying and Changing the Culture of STEM: a Novel Collaboration between Biosciences and Women’s Studies, in which a nationally recognized program is applied to encourage women to participate in science by studying science and the culture of STEM disciplines. $9,902.71.
Megan Goodwin, Anoka-Ramsey Community College
Success Stepping into College, which is a project that collaborates with local high schools to create a summer bridge program emphasizing classroom and lab instruction, and an academic year student support curriculum to ensure student success in STEM coursework. $28,076.00
Shane Holm, Itasca Community College
Itasca Community College Class Act Program - More and Better STEM Teachers, a partnership with seven regional school districts and Bemidji State University to expand Itasca’s pre-education track by adding a new cohort of students interested in teaching in STEM areas. $41,999.00.
Rebecca Krystyniak, St. Cloud State University
Utilizing Learning Assistants (LA's) in STEM Courses, a project that will continue a previously grant-funded project that redesigned a large-enrollment introductory Chemistry course to improve student learning. This project also applies the same redesign approaches to a sophomore-level Chemistry class and an introductory-level Statistics course. $39,918.74.
Renu Kumar, Century College
Development of Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) Assignments for Biology Courses, an instructional method that aims to actively engage students in learning content, while at the same time fostering development of the essential problem solving, analytical, critical thinking skills required in scientific careers. $9,700.00.
Margaret Rejto, Normandale Community College
Improving Student Access to College-Level Mathematics, which expands a previously funded project in order to increase the percentage of students who pass Mathematics courses and to more actively recruiting underrepresented students. $20,520.00.
Amy Riipinen, Hibbing Community College
Math/Engineering Initiative, wherein faculty members teaching mathematics and engineering are developing a curriculum that will allow Calculus students to apply real-world Physics concepts in their classes, changing the course delivery to applied learning rather than the traditional lecture method of instruction. $4,457.00.
Catherine Summa, Winona State University
Toward the Creation of a Statewide Infrastructure for STEM Education and STEM Teacher Support, a comprehensive two-year statewide initiative that will provide faculty development and resources for college students studying to be teachers. The project is a partnership with the Science Museum of Minnesota. $107,000.00.
Rikki Wagstrom, Metropolitan State University
Using Social and Environmental Issues to Increase Student Success in Mathematics, which seeks to increase student retention in introductory-level mathematics through the development and implementation of two innovative courses, and an adaptation of tutoring practices and services to better meet the needs of students enrolled in these new courses. $25,514.19.
Aaron Wangberg, Winona State University
Self-Explanation Tutorials on Pre-requisite Material for Calculus I Students, which will develop 150 self-explanation tutorials for 75 students in two calculus courses in order to improve the percentage of students who pass that mathematics class. $10,000.00.
