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Alabama State U and Tuskegee University Receive STEM Education Grant

• By Leila Meyer
• 08/12/13

Alabama State University (ASU) and Tuskegee University (TU) are joint recipients of a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to fund a three-year program to teach science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses and information and communication technology (ICT) to students in Montgomery Public Schools and Macon County Schools.

The two universities submitted a collaborative proposal, "Strategies: The Eyes Say it All: Using Web Page Design and Eye-tracking Technology to Learn STEM Concepts, Research Skills, and Human Factors," to the NSF's Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers program and were awarded $433,120 to be shared between them. A major goal of the proposal was to motivate students to pursue STEM or ICT careers, according to information from ASU.

As part of the project, the universities will conduct two three-week summer enrichment programs for 50 students in grades 8 through 12: one at ASU for students from Montgomery Public Schools and one at TU for students from Macon County Schools. "During the program, students will be learning how to design and develop a Web page to teach science content through project-based learning in teams," said Marcia Rossi, professor of psychology at ASU, in a prepared statement.

The project will also provide partial faculty support and student support for undergraduate psychology majors and other students, according to Rossi. Undergraduate students involved with the project will have the opportunity to work as paid research assistants while gaining research and mentoring experience, she added.

Alabama State University is a public institution located in Montgomery, AL, serving approximately 12,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Tuskegee University is a private university located in Tuskegee, AL, serving more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students.