Computer Science Faculty member, Dr. James Hill along with School of Education and School of Science faculty were recently approved for a five year 1.5 million dollar grant to help bridge the gap of minority teaching professionals in the STEM field. This grant was awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and while most NSF continuing grants span for 3 years, the faculty were able to secure an additional 2 years.
The low number of mathematics and science teachers within the K-12 school system has been a persistent challenge in the education system nationwide. While there is a significant amount of minority students in the K-12 system, the student to teacher ratio has remained disproportionate. The School of Education and the Purdue School of Science at IUPUI intend to combat this challenge through the Carver Teaching Initiative. This initiative strives to inspire the next generation of students in becoming STEM professionals through internships, recruitment, and engagement. In an effort to increase minority STEM professionals, the program will provide 90 research teaching internships to STEM majors who consider teaching in the future. In addition to the research teaching internships, 25 high achieving STEM majors will receive a two year scholarship to increase and diversify the amount of STEM graduates with secondary certification.
Written By: Tiffany Essex (tielesse@iu.edu)