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Great things can come out of a friendly competition. Including a partnership.
Northern Michigan University and Michigan Technological University will partner to prepare 30 middle school teachers as leaders in STEM education. With funding from the National Science Foundation worth 2.7 million dollars, the two universities commit to supporting partnering to prepare STEM master Teachers for Michigan middle schools. The funding award comes from the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program and supports the new Master Teachers Program (MTP) to develop current middle school STEM teachers into leaders in the districts and communities. The program aims to recruit 30 experienced science teachers to lead efforts to improve science education in grades 5th to 9 in high-need schools. The program will begin to accept nominations this fall.
The MTP focuses on middle school educators because most students will take their first standalone science course at those levels. Creating a fun and engaging education environment for science and math courses can have lifelong impacts on students and their further interest in STEM-related fields. Project leader and researcher at the Great Lakes Research Center Marianne Semones says that the significance of the program lies within its mission to empower teachers to improve STEM education experiences and create effective learning environments. The partnership also allows Northern Michigan University to begin offering a master’s in science education program, with Michigan Tech overseeing a portion of the courses.
Those interested in learning more about the STEM Middle School education program from educators and the partnership between Northern Michigan University and Michigan Technological University can find more details here.
