NC State Gets Grant to Study the Effects of Teachers’ Education

NCSU was recently awarded a grant of $3.1 million to conduct a five-year study called Project ATOMS (Accomplished Elementary Teachers of Mathematics and Science).

Science, technology, engineering, and math are the buzz in education and some U.S. universities are tuning in. The combination of these disciplines is often referred to as STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math).

One of the universities tuning into STEM disciplines for teacher education is North Carolina State University. NCSU was recently awarded a grant of $3.1 million to conduct a five-year study called Project ATOMS (Accomplished Elementary Teachers of Mathematics and Science).

The study will follow university students who will enter elementary teaching. The study will then follow the students as they graduate and then further into the classroom. The elementary teachers’ students test scores in math and science will then be collected. The study will compare this information with other classrooms where the teachers did not receive rigorous coursework in STEM subjects from N.C. State.

According to Dr. Ellen McIntyre, head of the elementary education department at N.C. State, it is typical, though not true for everyone, for a university to require a few courses in math, calculus, science, and hard science for a major in elementary education.

As to how NSCU stands out from the others, McIntyre says that it requires more coursework for future elementary teachers in the STEM subjects.

“There is also a special designed course at N.C. State called physical science and the content is themed for elementary education. To teach science and math really well to young children, we think that physical science should be studied.” said McIntyre in a telephone interview. Physical science includes the basic principles of physics, chemistry, and earth science.

In 2009, a project with the National Assessment of Educational Progress within the U.S Department of Education tested 168,000 fourth-graders in mathematics. The results were put together in what is called, “The Nation’s Report Card.” In mathematics testing, 72 percent of fourth-graders performed well, 34 percent scored really well and 1 percent scored exceptionally well.

According to McIntyre, the five-year study Project ATOMS may offer useful knowledge for other universities. “First of all, the design of the study, if successful, promises to understand the effects of teacher education. There is not enough research that looks at effects of teacher education by looking at test scores, performance, and what teachers know. We will also have outside evaluators evaluating us in our study. The second way, if our study ends up successful, is that the study results might help deans of college education to require more rigorous math and science in teacher education,” said McIntyre.

Historically STEM subjects have always been used by people. Engineering is the skill of using subjects such as science and mathematics to materially create something useful for people’s daily living. In North America, engineering can be found in the Native American mounds, which were buildings made of clay, mud, and cane.