Lehigh Valley Partnership to Enhance STEM Education through G4-12 Teaching Fellows

Project Information

Title of Project	Lehigh Valley Partnership to Enhance STEM Education through G4-12 Teaching Fellows
Institution	Lehigh University
PI/Co-PIs	William M. Pottenger, Henry U. Odi, Horace K. Moo-Young, and Glenn D. Blank
Senior Personnel	M. Jean Russo, Gary DeLeo, Bennett Eisenberg, Lynn Columba, Keith Schray, Joseph Rahs and Roy Herrenkohl
Number of Fellows per year	Six Graduate and Six Undergraduate
Target audience of the project	Grades 4-12 (grades vary based on discipline).
NSF supported disciplines	Computer Science, Information Technology, Physics, Chemistry Earth Science and Mathematics.

Project Description

This project will enhance the educational experience of students in Lehigh Valley schools by placing graduate and advanced undergraduate Teaching Fellows in STEM classrooms and establishing STEM outreach teams. Teaching Fellows will help G4-12 teachers introduce inquiry-based learning and use multimedia, wireless and other innovative technologies in local classrooms. Outreach teams consisting of Teaching Fellows, Lehigh University faculty, and industry experts from Air Products and Chemicals, Agere Systems, Insaco, Inc. and the Discovery Center for Science and Technology will train and exchange ideas with STEM teachers and administrators from the Allentown and Bethlehem Area School Districts. The Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance will supply additional financial support. Our partnership will achieve the following objectives:

• Educate and train graduate and advanced undergraduate students in STEM disciplines to a serve as Teaching Fellows in G4-12 classrooms.
• Establish outreach teams that include Lehigh High School Scholars, Teaching Fellows, G4-12 teachers and administrators, Lehigh faculty members, and professionals from industry.
  Provide G4-12 students hands-on inquiry-based and problem-based learning experiences.
• Develop and use multimedia instructional materials to increase awareness and learning in computer science, software engineering and information technology.
• Work with G4-12 STEM teachers and curriculum coordinators to incorporate inquiry-based instruction and multimedia materials in G4-12 curricula.
• Provide professional development opportunities for G4-12 teachers in support of Pennsylvania's Act 48 Continuing Education Program through summer workshops and NSF Research Experiences for Teachers.
• Improve Internet access of the school districts by providing high-speed connections between them and Lehigh.

The target schools for this project have high percentages of underrepresented minority students from low-income families. In addition, the recruitment and selection processes are tightly integrated with existing outreach programs to ensure that several Teaching Fellows will be women or underrepresented minorities.

From these activities, the following benefits are expected:

• Improve awareness of G4-12 educational issues, communication, leadership, and teaching skills for the Teaching Fellows.
• Enhance G4-12 students' problem solving and critical thinking skills.
• Increase G4-12 student and teacher awareness about computer science and information technology.
• Improve understanding of STEM pedagogy for local teachers, Lehigh faculty and Teaching Fellows.
• Increase the number of students who pursue college degrees and careers in STEM disciplines.
• Improve the recruitment and retention rate of females and minorities in STEM disciplines.
• Strengthen educational partnerships between Lehigh University faculty, Lehigh Valley school districts, and local industries.
  
  This project promises to bring together participants from industry, higher education, and area school districts to serve the Lehigh Valley community through outreach in STEM disciplines. The project partners strongly agree that partnering to enhance STEM education is crucial to all concerned.

For up to date project information, please refer to the project web site.