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
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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)
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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'*