[12] MTSU AWARDED NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION GRANT

July 8, 2009
CONTACT: Tom Tozer or Randy Weiler, 615-898-2919


MURFREESBORO—Middle Tennessee State University recently was awarded a $2.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation for teacher preparation and leadership in science and math. This follows a $2.7 million NSF grant awarded to MTSU this past spring to improve biology education in Rutherford County and Metro Nashville high schools.
“Studies have shown that average math and science scores of U.S. students trail significantly behind nearly all countries in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Congressman Bart Gordon, who has been instrumental in obtaining grant funding. “These awards will work to reverse this trend.”
The latest award includes support for a Master Teaching Fellows Program ($1.5 million) and for the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program ($900K), both of which will assist in beefing up K-12 education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The MTSU Master Teaching Fellows Program, a five-year project and one of only six such programs across the nation, will place 14 exceptional math and science teachers at high-needs high schools in Rutherford and Davidson counties, with support from STEM industry partners through Mind2Marketplace and the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce.
[Mind2Marketplace, a consortium of academicians, businesspeople, educators and government officials, was formed in 2006 following a challenge by Congressman Gordon to coordinate efforts to develop, test and bring to the marketplace technology-based ideas in order to create jobs and increase economic vitality.]
“Oftentimes there is a disconnect between the discoveries made by scientists and what teachers are teaching in the classroom,” Gordon noted. “The Teaching Fellows Program will bring teachers, top researchers at MTSU and industry experts together to develop the most effective ways to teach high school math and science in Tennessee.”
The Master Teaching Fellows Program project team includes MTSU’s Dr. Rick Vanosdall, director of mathematics and science education; Drs. Michaele Chappell and Mary Enderson, professors of mathematical sciences; Dr. Kyle Butler, associate professor of educational leadership; Dr. Dorothy Craig, professor of educational leadership; Dr. Terry Goodin, assistant professor, educational leadership; Dr. Pat Patterson, associate professor of chemistry; Dr. Michael Rutledge, professor of biology; and Dr. Ron Henderson, interim chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Other team members are Andrea Loughery, chairperson, and Sandy Ponder, executive director, of Mind2Marketplace; and Stephanie Brackman, interim president, Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce.
The second component of the award is the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, which is earmarked to encourage students majoring in the sciences to become K-12 math and science teachers. Funding will support scholarships and programs to undergraduate STEM majors ($10,000 a year per recipient) who commit to teaching in high-need school districts for a period of two years for each year of support they receive.
[Robert Norton Noyce, 1927-1990, nicknamed the “Mayor of Silicon Valley,” co-founded the Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957 and Intel in 1968. He also is credited, along with Jack Kilby, with inventing the microchip.]
MTSU’s Drs. Diane Miller, interim executive vice president and provost, and Robert Carlton, retired chair or the Department of Physics and Astronomy, designed the program that addresses the acute shortage of math and physics teachers in Tennessee.
“Future teachers will be contributors to the restoration of America's competitiveness through the next generation of minds they will touch and inspire,” Carlton said.
Students will participate in pre-service field experiences and inquiry-based learning opportunities that reflect research-proven best practices. They will be mentored by top middle and high-school teachers and university professors. Graduates of the Noyce program will receive dual certification in physics and math.
“MTSU’s Noyce Program will prepare undergraduates to become the physics and math teachers needed in Tennessee high schools to provide students with a 21st-century education,” said Gordon, who authored the 2007 law, which established the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program.
“It’s a wonderful program to attract students into the teaching profession … where they are badly needed,” added MTSU’s Dr. Tom Cheatham, dean of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences. “Both of these programs will impact teachers across the state.”

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