The Fred S. Klipsch Educators College and the College of Arts and Sciences at Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK will collaborate on a $1.1 million Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship grant from the National Science Foundation to support a new initiative in central Indiana called "Improving Secondary STEM Teacher Preparation for High-Need Schools Through Diverse Teaching Experiences, Including Simulated Virtual Reality Classrooms." The grant provides scholarships aimed to increase the number of undergraduate students pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) teaching and prepare them to be highly effective secondary educators in high-need schools over the next five years.
“This scholarship will expand our reach to current students and help diversify the teacher population in high-need schools," says LaTonya Turner, Ph.D., dean of the Educators College. "It is especially critical to recruit and train secondary STEM teachers into highly-skilled, proficient educators, using the best rubrics taught by the most highly-qualified education faculty in the state.”
Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK will partner with three local school corporations—Decatur Township Schools, Indianapolis Public Schools, and Perry Township Schools—for a multi-faceted initiative that includes:
Matt Hollowell, Ph.D., assistant professor of education, spoke about what makes this grant so unique. “The first year of teaching presents challenges that can be difficult to navigate without a comprehensive support system. The Noyce grant will allow Marian faculty to continue to collaborate with our STEM alumni so that they receive the ongoing professional support they need to be highly-effective STEM educators.”
The initiative will begin this fall and Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK students interested in applying for this scholarship can click . Students interested in attending Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK can apply at marian.edu/apply.