Archive
4/20/2005
Contact: Sandy Connolly, (651) 259-3902
Twenty-five grants totaling over $1 million were awarded to Minnesota higher education institutions and nonprofit organizations to support improved K-12 instruction in mathematics, science, and social studies, the Office of Higher Education announced today.
"The funded programs are designed to improve student achievement by elevating K-12 teacher and paraprofessional quality through training activities demonstrated to be effective by scientifically-based research," said Nancy Walters, Program Manager for the Office of Higher Education. "Each of these programs has a demonstrated track record of success."
The grants to improve teacher quality through higher education - totaling $1,008,401 - were made available with federal funding from the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 targeted specifically to the Improving Teacher Quality program. In total, Minnesota received $38 million for 2004-2005 under the federal Improving Teacher Quality Program. The Minnesota Department of Education administers the larger portion of these funds for state and district-level teacher quality efforts.
With the funds designated for higher education under this initiative, each state higher education agency provides competitive grants to higher education training partnerships that include one or more high-need school districts. This year, continuation grants were awarded to 25 of the 2004 grantees who had successfully met first year objectives and wanted to conduct a second year of program activities.
As a state formula grant program, the federal award makes funds available to state education agencies, local school districts, and state agencies for higher education to support and help shape state and local activities to improve teacher quality. The purpose of the federal funding is continued student achievement and ensuring that all teachers of core academic subjects are highly qualified by the end of the 2005-2006 school year.
The grants awarded from the Office of Higher Education for the Improving Teacher Quality Program support sustained in-service programs in mathematics, science and social studies for K-12 teachers and for paraprofessionals in mathematics. Funded projects will work with schools having the greatest need to improve student achievement and teachers in need of licensure by the Minnesota Board of Teaching.
Attached is a list of projects funded for the third year under the Improving Teacher Quality Program of the No Child Left Behind Act.
Project Descriptor | Grant Amount | |
---|---|---|
I. In-Service Projects for Teachers in Mathematics | ||
Mathematics Within University of Minnesota | $42,995 | |
Mathematical Reasoning & Spatial Sense, Geometry & Measurement The College of St. Scholastica | $48,000 | |
Probability and Statistics in the Secondary Classroom Macalester College | $39,949 | |
Building Discrete Mathematics & Patterns & Function with Elementary and Middle School Teachers Bemidji State University | $44,166 | |
Improving Teacher Quality in Geometry & Probability & Statistics Bemidji State University | $47,337 | |
II. In-Service Mathematics Projects for Paraprofessionals | ||
Foundations of Arithmetic I Bemidji State University | $29,929 | |
Foundations of Arithmetic II Bemidji State University | $29,928 | |
AfterMath III Inver Hills Community College | $30,000 | |
Content and Communications for K-6 Paraprofessionals Augsburg College | $28,000 | |
III. In-service Projects for Teachers in Science | ||
Monarchs and More: Insect Ecology for Elementary Teachers University of Minnesota | $47,963 | |
Monarchs and More: Insect Field Ecology for Teachers University of Minnesota | $44,936 | |
Investigating Plant Biology for Elementary Teachers University of Minnesota | $47,950 | |
Investigating Molecular Biology and Biotechnology University of Minnesota | $47,022 | |
Teaching Science through Examples from Renewable Materials University of Minnesota | $39,083 | |
Earth Science Systems for Teachers of Grades 6-8 Century College | $36,615 | |
A Hybrid On-Line Licensure Program for Physics & Chemistry Bemidji State University | $47,645 | |
Inquiring Minds: 2005 Itasca Field Biology University of Minnesota | $42,596 | |
Project IDEA - Inquiry into Diet, Exercise, and Anatomy St. Cloud State University | $37,401 | |
Discovering Science on the Range in the Field of Energy: Part II CREED Project | $40,789 | |
IV. In-service Projects for Teachers in Social Studies | ||
Inquiry and Research: An Interdisciplinary Social Studies Institute College of St. Scholastica | $42,596 | |
Authentic Pedagogy for Integrating Reading in Geography and Social Studies Macalester College | $44,905 | |
Using Children's Literature to Teacher Economics MN Council on Economic Education | $34,252 | |
Educator Preparation for Economics Academic Standards MN Council on Economic Education | $48,000 | |
Enhancing Social Studies Curricula with Economics MN Council on Economic Education | $36,260 | |
Applying the Socratic Questioning Method of Paidiea Seminars In Social Studies Augsburg College | $39,600 |
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