$1.1 million grant from NSF to USC aimed at enhancing science, math education

The University of South Carolina has received a $1.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to team up with Midlands schools to enhance science and math education.

The three-year grant, to USC's College of Engineering and Information Technology and College of Education, will provide funds for the university to recruit 10 engineering graduate students, called GK-12 Fellows, each year to show teachers and students in grades 3 - 8 how to apply their science and math lessons to real-world problems.

The principal investigators on the grant are Dr. Jed Lyons, a USC mechanical engineering professor, and Dr. Christine Ebert, associate dean of USC's College of Education.

Lyons said the program serves the dual purpose of preparing graduate students for careers in university teaching while enhancing science and math education in public schools. "That is a worthwhile effort," he said. The USC students will spend about 10 hours a week at the schools.

"They will share their knowledge and expertise in problem solving with children and work with teachers to develop specific units of study," Ebert said. For example, when fifth-grade students learn about machines, motion and forces, GK-12 Fellows in mechanical engineering will help teachers and students to design model cars from "World in Motion" curriculum of the Society for Automotive Engineers, Lyons said.

"Likewise, civil engineers will help with standards on earth materials, and chemical engineers will help with studies on mixtures and solutions," he said. "In addition to being content resources for the S.C. Science Standards, GK-12 Fellows will help with school-specific needs, such as developing science labs, introducing engineering software into computer labs or even helping students understand the science behind the materials they use in art class."

The grant is timely. National studies show that U.S. students trail students in most other countries of the world in their science and math knowledge. Lyons said developing students' interest in science and math while they are still in elementary school is important.

"Teachers and principals say this is when students are getting turned on or turned off to science," he said. "At that age, they don't understand the application of their science studies. "This is where our students can make a tremendous difference in the classro m. They can help students and teachers in the hands-on, active learning uses of basic science principles."

USC's graduate students will work first with schools in the Midlands, but Ebert hopes the program can be extended to teachers statewide through seminars and summer programs. "We see this as a really exciting project that is just beginning," she said.

On the engineering side of the grant, Lyons and Ebert said the graduate students will gain valuable teaching experience. "Many will pursue careers in teaching at a university," Ebert said. "This will prepare them for the classroom and for communicating with others. But effective teaching begins early. It is important for those teaching children to know what information and experiences are expected as students progress through the grade levels. Equally important, teachers working with college students, for example, need to know what previous learning has occurred." In the past, Ebert said, the relationship between expectations and actual experiences has been discussed in terms of K-12 education.

"However, this relationship really extends into college and therefore should be K-16," she said. "This grant provides first-hand experiences for the engineering students who will one day be teaching students in 'grades 13-16' to help them understand the learning at the elementary levels. "It also will help them learn the value of collaboration and working together in teams, which also is important in an engineering career."

USC is recruiting the 10 engineering students who will work with the grant. They will begin working with schools in the fall.