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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 12, 2000)
Thursday, Octoberll Thursday, October 12, 2(X)() science Page 5 THE BATTALION NSF allots $10 million to institute New center to focus on revamping science education in Texas schools i $10 million The grant will devel aolo, a sophomore gene; major, said she feels help! scussing a friend who hi' isorder. dng a friend with an eat is scary,” said Priolo." low quite how to help can't force her to do so® Kit she doesn’t wani I first saw her, I feltcff for her situation, butaih ne. I just wanted to# isk her what she was si! f. She looks like sheisffi wn concentration camp.) ng the best of her.” said the treatment for isorder is multifaceted ■an have counseling,Vi or visit a doctor. B gy department and mseling services si# ■rapy and individual® :ed said that even iliougi! ,order is potentially|| ope. ByNoni Sridhara The Battalion Texas A&M is aiming to restructure science education from kindergarten to graduate school with grant from the National Science Foundation, be given over a five-year period to a new 1 iformation Technology and Science Center. Joseph Newton, dean of the College of Science, said there are three main reasons for behind oping the center. “First, there is an incredible shortage of ma|th and science teachers today,” he said. “Also there is an incredible amount of infdrma- tion technology available, but teachers are not sure of the best way to integrate these resources into their curriculum. Finally, the center will be zero ing in on the seventh to 12th grades because science curriculum in these grade levels has lagged behind the scientific community,”he said He said billions of dollars are spent on phcing computers and other high-tech equipment into classrooms, but very little of the resources are used because the teachers are not sure how to in corporate the tools into their curriculum. Jane F. Schielack, director of the center and an as sociate professor of mathematics, said the center will focus on providing high-quality science and mathe matics education through teacher professional devel opment and education. “We have research objectives that concent "ate on how in formation technologies impact four areas: done, how science is taught and learned, ho processes and products of learning science, and how to build p that includes •ough 12,” she the center is to a networked community of science scholarsh all teachers and students of grades seven th said. Newton said one of the main goals behind produce teachers with advanced degrees and who are spe cialists in science education through professional develop ment experiences. “We will bring in master teachers from acrloss the state — how science is w to assess the RUBEN DELUNA/Thf. Battalion teachers who have shown great interest in the restructuring of science education, teachers from the College of Science and the College of Education along with graduate students,” he said. “These teams will work to develop ways to solve this problem, incorporating information technology into their solutions.” He said these development experiences will aid in indirectly changing science teachers beliefs systems regarding the ways science is presently taught. * Jon J. Denton, executive associate dean of the College of Education, said there is a compelling need for improvements in sci ence education. Denton said that since the Texas Acad emic Achievement Skills exam added sci ence as a test section in Fall 1998, there has been a strong push to focus on science education. “This is a very high- stakes matter,” Denton said.“We’ve got to.make sure that teachers have viable resources.” To attract teachers from across the state at all grade le vels, stipends will be given to teachers who participate in these workshops. Newton said faculty participating in these workshops will be awarded grant money, tenure, promotion and raise s. “This is a very daunting prospect, but we sincere ly believe it will be worti it because we have all of the partners necessary to change the way science is taught at all levels,” Newton said. In addition to researchers in science, educa tion, engineering, and agriculture, other partners for this center include the University of Texas- Austin, The Texas Education Agency and the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History Future initiatives of t ie center include linking with other information technology institutes at A&M such as the Visualization and Animation Laboratory and the Institute for Scientific Computation. —News in Brief— Oceanographers to go on cruise in mini-subma- Oceanographers from Texas A&M and researchers from Louisiana State University are about to embark on a two- week, cruise starting Oct. 16 on the mini-submarine ALVIN to trace the edge of the continental slope' , from South Texas to Florida. ALVIN is a submarine that first made its appearance at the Woodshole Oceanographic Insti tute in 1964 and has since picked up lost H-bombs from the ocean floor and allowed the world to see the remains of the Titanic. Ian R. MacDonald, a re- . search scientist with Texas A&M’s Geochemical and Envi ronmental Research Group who will be on the voyage, said the < researchers will take the ship 3,300 meters deep. “We are really pushing the en velope on submersible oceanog raphy,” MacDonald said. “Our research efforts will be « focusing on the biology of ani mals, the intense current sys tems of the ocean floor and gas hydrate deposits in the Gulf of Mexico.” “After a generation of discov ery in the deep sea, we are about to develop a permanent presence a mile or more below the sur face,” MacDonald said. If you have any science or technology related questions please email scifyi@hotmail.com. Include your name, class, and major..You may also drop your question by The Battalion Newsroom in 013 Reed MrlTrinalrl % % ' Don't just keep pace with technology. Drive it ’ing societies 67 or come by >h or check. rs' Council Engineering, IT, Finance, Human Resources and Business majors: Stop by The IfiStreOil 500, our special on-campus career event, on Thursday, October 19th, Hilton, Oakwood Ballroom anytime between 1:30 - 5:00 pm. At Visteon, the most advanced technologies on the planet have arrived. And they’ll remote-control car races, complete with prizes (including 30-minute phone cards) take you farther and taster than you’ve ever dreamed possible. As the world’s 2nd and refreshments, largest automotive parts and systems manufacturer, you’ll find a creative, entrepre neurial culture fueled by diverse points of view. See for yourself at The Visteon 500, our on-campus career event that lets you explore our technologies and opportunities, while joining in on our exciting By choice, we are an equal opportunity employer committed to a culturally diversified workforce. Visteon Why just plan for the future when you can drive it? Stop by on Thursday, October 19th, Hilton, Oakwood Ballroom or visit our Web site to learn more at: www. visteon.com/careers m. See the possibilities'*