STEM

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STEM Initiative

The USG Presidents’ STEM Initiative is a System Wide Project, currently under the leadership of Tom Jones, President of Armstrong Atlantic State University, with coordination provided by the P-16 Department.

STEM IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

MATH + SCIENCE = SUCCESS embraces the two key points of intersection between the K-12 schools and the University System:

• Students: Students move through the K-12 schools and then into and through the University System.
• Teachers: College students prepare to become teachers in the University System and then move into the public schools to teach the next generation of K-12 students.

Accordingly, MATH + SCIENCE = SUCCESS includes three sets of interconnected strategies, those designed to:

• Promote K-12 student preparation for and interest in majoring in STEM in college.
• Increase the success of STEM majors in college.
• Produce more and better science and mathematics teachers for the schools, which in turn will lead to increased preparation of K-12 students in science and mathematics.

MATH + SCIENCE = SUCCESS includes both state and regional strategies. State-level strategies are coordinated by the USG P-16 Department, whereas regional strategies are coordinated by USG institutions using funds awarded through competitive proposals. The twelve specific state and regional level strategies are as follows:

• Strategy 1: Serve as a collaborative partner with the Georgia Department of Education as it leads revisions to the High School Graduation Rule that stipulates the courses required for graduation.
• Strategy 2: Replicate the PRISM Public Awareness Campaign to influence middle and high school students’ course-taking patterns by positively altering their perceptions about science and mathematics, and to reinforce parental and guardian involvement to increase students’ interest in science and mathematics.
• Strategy 3: Replicate the PRISM Academy for Future Teachers of Science and Mathematics throughout the USG. The 20 USG institutions that prepare teachers are eligible to participate.
• Strategy 4: Replicate Project MESA, which focuses on underrepresented groups. Georgia would be second only to California in offering this program statewide. All USG access institutions are eligible to participate.
• Strategy 5: Replicate the PRISM state-level Institute on the Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics throughout the USG that focuses on teaching college introductory courses in mathematics and the sciences. All institutions that offer the associate or baccalaureate degree are eligible to participate.
• Strategy 6: Recommend that all USG access institutions and baccalaureate degree-granting institutions set targets as to the percent of students completing the following introductory courses with a grade of A, B, or C, and the percent of students who withdraw:
  
  • Math Modeling, College Algebra, Pre-Calculus.
  • Introductory Biology Courses for majors and non-majors.
  • Introductory Chemistry courses for majors and non-majors.
• Strategy 7: Participate in a national project, Mathematics Success, to determine which interventions might be used to improve student success in Developmental Mathematics, College Algebra, Pre-calculus, and Calculus I.
• Strategy 8: Recommend that each of the USG institutions that offers majors in the STEM disciplines sets annual institutional production targets for baccalaureate degrees conferred in the STEM disciplines, FY 2007-FY 2013, and makes reaching these targets high institutional priorities.
• Strategy 9: Establish a structured “mini-grant” program for STEM and science and mathematics education faculty to collaborate in K-16 learning communities, and for STEM faculty to work on increasing student understanding of the subject matter in introductory science and mathematics courses. All institutions that offer the associate or baccalaureate degree are eligible to participate.
• Strategy 10: Replicate Project FOCUS from PRISM - a project where undergraduate science and mathematics majors get exposed to teaching in the public schools through working with elementary students. All USG institutions that offer the associate degree or the baccalaureate degree with majors in mathematics and the sciences are eligible to participate.
• Strategy 11: Recommend that each USG institution complete an annual self assessment on changes within the institutional culture toward optimizing the intent of the new Board Policy “Work in the Schools”. All institutions that offer the associate degree or the baccalaureate degree with majors in mathematics and the sciences are eligible to participate.
• Strategy 12: Recommend that each USG institution that prepares teachers sets teacher production targets in science and mathematics for middle grades and high school teachers, FY 2008-FY 2013, and makes reaching these targets high institutional priorities.