The National Science Foundation has awarded the College a $2.5 million grant to an fund educational outreach program, in which Dartmouth graduate students will educate local middle school students in science, technology, engineering and math, according to several members of the program team.
The grant, which was announced in early March, provides funding for the Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12 Education Program, which refers to teaching in science, technology, engineering and math. The program combines the goals of the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning and the Academic Outreach program, while also serving the local community and making Dartmouth a stronger competitor for research funds, according to earth sciences professor Carl Renshaw, the principal investigator for the outreach team.
DCAL aims to improve graduate students' teaching preparation, and the outreach office has been trying to establish more long-term connections with local schools. Both of these efforts will be integrated through the program, Renshaw said.
"The primary driving force is to establish a long-term and sustainable outreach effort and professional development for graduate students," Renshaw said.
The grant money will primarily fund stipends for graduate students who participate in the program, according to former DCAL associate director Vicki May, part of the six-person team overseeing the grant project. A small portion of the money will also fund materials to be used by graduate students in teaching projects.
Each year, eight graduate students and eight middle school teachers will be selected to participate in the program, then paired for the duration of the school year, May said. Each graduate student will work for about 10 hours per week with his or her assigned middle school teacher, and an educational program will be devised by each pair, according to Nancy Serrell, another a member of the outreach project team and director of academic outreach at Dartmouth. These programs could be anything from a year-long, in-class project with the students to an after-school program run by the graduate student, Serrell said.
"We can't say [what types of projects the pairs will decide upon] I don't think there's going to be one cookie cutter model," Serrell said. "I think that's really important, that this is not something Dartmouth is doing for schools and to schools. It is something we're developing with teachers."
Other schools participating in the NSF program across the country have demonstrated the benefits the program can provide for graduate students, Serrell said. Graduate students nationwide participating in the program finish their degrees earlier, on average, than those who do not participate in the program. They also become better at communicating and engaging in conversations about science, she said.
"One of the goals of this grant is to produce some sustainable ways for faculty and graduate students to translate their research to broader audiences," Serrell said.
Educational outreach in science has become very important for several federal agencies, including the NSF and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, according to Serrell.
"President [Barack] Obama is very concerned that U.S.-born children drop out of science," Serrell said.
The outreach program aims to motivate scientists to be involved in inspiring students to continue their scientific studies, she said.
Dartmouth has been part of other outreach efforts to bring science to nearby schools, the most notable of which has been a program known as "science cafes," according to Renshaw. In this program, graduate students visited nearby middle schools and high schools to deliver five to 10-minute presentations on a topic relevant to their work, followed by an informal discussion with students on related scientific subjects.
The NSF program will serve middle schools in Hanover; Lebanon; Claremont, N.H.; Mascoma, N.H.; Woodstock, Vt. and Thetford, Vt., as well as Sharon Academy in Sharon, Vt., according to Renshaw. The schools were selected based on proximity to the College and need, he said.
"In general, the further out you get from the Hanover area, there's really a greater need for help with the sciences," Renshaw said. "On the other hand, the further you get away, it's harder for graduate students to get to."
In addition to Renshaw, May and Serrell, the team overseeing the NSF grant project includes Janet Zullo, an instructor in Dartmouth's education department, DCAL associate director Cindy Tobery and Judy Filkins, the K-8 math and science curriculum coordinator for the Lebanon School District, according to Renshaw. Filkins will serve as a liaison between Dartmouth and the seven middle schools the College will work with on the project.
The grant-writing process involved contributions from professors in the primary math, science, engineering and technology departments, including biology professor Mary Lou Guerinot and chemistry professor Jon Kull, May said.
"This was very much a team effort," Serrell said.
