ASU Gets $33 Million to Support Efforts with K-12 Community
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Marilyn Carlson, CRESMET Director
Associate Professor, Mathematics and Statistics |
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Robert Atkinson, CRESMET Associate Director
Assistant Professor, Educational Technology |
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Veronica Burrows, CRESMET Associate Director
Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering |
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Douglas Clark, CRESMET Associate Director
Assistant Professor, Science Education |
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Arizona State University has been awarded six federal grants totaling
more than $33 million, all of which will have a direct impact on K-12
education in Arizona.
These research investments by the National Science Foundation, the National
Institutes of Health and the Department of Education will flow directly
into the community to enrich area schools with teacher training and other
support activities while ASU faculty conduct research that will lead
to permanently improving education nation-wide.
“This federal funding is critical to our education mission and
our commitment to improve quality of life in Arizona,” noted ASU
President Michael Crow. “Research projects like these show how
investments in entrepreneurial faculty can lead to major benefits for
the community.”
The grants also exemplify a deep spirit of cooperation in Arizona’s
education community, as they involve active partnerships and intense
collaboration between ASU and other state other educational institutions.
The new grants are:
- $12.5 million from the National
Science Foundation (NSF) for “Project Pathways: Opening Routes
to Math and Science Success for All Students,” a pilot education
research program that is aimed at deepening math and science teaching
skills by delivering tuition-free advanced teacher training in math and
science directly to high schools. 350 high school teachers from
four high school districts around the Valley will be involved in the
first phase, and ultimately the program will improve math and science
learning for more than 50,000 students. Awarded to Marilyn Carlson, CRESMET.
- $4.4 million from NSF’s
Teacher Professional Continuum program, which aims to bolster the recruitment,
preparation and retention of effective teachers in science, technology,
engineering and mathematics. It has an initial two-year award of $1.7
million and a pending $2.7 million based on progress and NSF funding
levels. The program also involves four school districts where ASU researchers
will deliver a new graduate course tuition free on teaching pre-calculus-level
mathematics. Awarded to Marilyn Carlson, CRESMET.
- $10 million from the U.S. Department
of Education to create a model quality university-school Professional
Development School that will recruit, prepare, place, and retain
high quality new teachers in high-poverty urban and remote rural school
districts. The program is designed to create high quality teachers and
increased student achievement in these challenging environments. Awarded
to the College of Teacher Education and Leadership at West Campus.
- $2.5 million from the U.S. Department
of Education’s Early Reading First program, which will develop
a program to encourage early acquisition of reading skills by preschool
children. The program, in partnership with the Tempe Elementary School
District, two elementary schools and several preschool providers, is
a pilot program in implementing an effective early reading program
and in training teachers through on-site college coursework and professional
mentoring. More than 150 children will be served by the pilot, which
will result in a proven program that can be duplicated in other schools
locally and nationwide. Awarded to Shelley Gray, Department of Speech
and Hearing Sciences.
- $2.5 million from the National
Institutes of Health for research to find factors predicting early
education success. This is the first large-scale, long-term study aimed
at defining how social factors can effect the education of preschool
and early elementary children, and the results could have a huge impact
on early childhood education. Awarded to Carol Martin, Department of
Family and Human Development.
- $1. 4 million from the National
Science Foundation for “Research on Learning and Education.” A
three-year project in which researchers will closely follow 160 students
from Grade 6 through Grade 8 to help researchers better understand
what is involved in children successfully learning math. The research
aims to uncover the mechanisms by which middle-grade adolescents develop
new math skills and knowledge, and develop models for successful math
teaching. The project has the potential to effect important practical
reforms in the preparation and classroom practice of middle school
mathematics teachers. Awarded to Jim Middleton, CRESMET, and Associate
Dean, College of Education.
Through the new grants, the researchers have attracted a significant
package of federal money to the state that will have direct impact on
local schools in areas that have been identified as critical – science
and math education, teacher preparation, teacher shortages in low income
and rural schools, and early reading and school preparation.
While directly supporting these immediate educational needs, the projects
will also have significant long-term effects. The research components
of the grants mean that the funds are likely to have an impact that reaches
significantly into the future and beyond the state. Many of the grants
involve developing “model” programs that are proven to be
effective and created so that they can someday also be adopted by other
school districts and other institutions.
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