The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa has received more than $350,000 in grant funding from the National Science Foundation to support the training and recruitment of future science, technology, environment and mathematics (STEM) teachers. Part of the grant funding will establish pathways for undergraduate students majoring in STEM fields to pursue a double major with secondary education, in order to introduce teaching to students early on in their college careers.
In addition, funding was awarded to the UH MakerSTEM project to engage college students and high school teachers in biological research and modern STEM learning techniques. The project remodels the STEM college learning experience, allowing students to build creative, collaborative partnerships that parallel professional practices.
“The goal of the MakerSTEM project is to provide an opportunity for pre-service teachers to engage in authentic scientific inquiry to help them better facilitate student learning in scientific principles and practices, and meet Next Generation Science Standards learning objectives,” said Judy D. Lemus, a faculty education specialist at the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology.
Added Tara O’Neill, director of the Institute for Teacher Education-Secondary Programs and recipient of a 2017 UH Board of Regents Medal for Teaching Excellence, “We are particularly excited that the UH MakerSTEM funding will enable faculty from ITE Secondary and the UH Institute for Marine Biology to engage pre-service science educators in authentic, place-based, science investigations and secondary (grades 6–12) curriculum design.”
