Graduate Teaching Fellows (GK-12) for South Mississippi

University Of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg MS

Investigators

Abstract

This award provides funding for the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) to develop a GK-12 program. This program will provide fellowships for twelve graduate students per year to work with K-12 teachers in six south Mississippi school districts. Fellows will be selected from the graduate programs in biology, chemistry, geology, mathematics, physics and polymer science. Each Fellow will pair with a K-12 teacher and a university mentor to develop and implement standards-based activities and lessons that will be integrated into the mathematics and science curriculum. The USM's Center for Science and Mathematics Education (CSMEd) will serve as the coordinating unit for the project. When taken as a whole, the school districts involved include a population of students that is representative of the state, approximately 51% African American, 48% White, and 1% Other. The plan for the GK-12 program includes a summer workshop to bring teachers and Fellows together for planning, weekly seminars for Fellows during the school year, joint meetings for all participants (university faculty, Fellows and teachers) at least once during each semester, professional development opportunities for the teachers, and travel for teachers and Fellows to science outreach centers (science museums, zoos, aquaria), and local, regional, and national conferences.