Alabama State U and Tuskegee University Receive STEM Education Grant
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.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].