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An ambitious plan by BGSU to recruit and educate science and math teachers has been chosen for state funding. The $3 million
Science and Math Education in Action grant will encourage and enable promising students to “Choose Ohio First” when selecting
a college and, later, to find in-state teaching jobs.
Students in the program will receive from $2,000 to $4,250 per year in Choose Ohio First scholarships, along with intensive
academic assistance, career counseling and the opportunity to conduct research and gain related work experience as undergraduates.
Combined with other scholarships from BGSU, the future teachers could receive up to $9,250 as seniors. “We want to give them
the support, the community and the encouragement to meet high standards and be successful,” said Dr. Bob Midden, leader of
the grant-writing team.
“In essence, the primary goal of Science and Math Education in Action (SMEA) is to assist in the development and preparation
of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) teachers who have the experiences, tools and skills necessary to
have a positive impact on the learning of Pre-K–12 students in Ohio schools,” said Dr. Julia Matuga, associate dean of the
College of Education and Human Development.
The state initiative is aimed at two of Gov. Ted Strickland and Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut’s objectives
in addressing Ohio’s needs: graduating more students and keeping graduates in Ohio. By helping to better prepare the citizens
of tomorrow, it also will play a role in work-force development, seen as another key to the state’s economic development.
“Inspiring and effectively educating Pre-K–12 students in the STEM areas is a critical contribution to the future development
of the state,” Matuga noted.
Part of the Ohio Innovation Partnership, the $100 million Choose Ohio First scholarship program seeks to improve the state’s
competitiveness in science and math education. BGSU’s grant is one of 17 proposals funded. Bowling Green will partner with
the University of Findlay and Owens, Terra and Northwest State community colleges to immediately begin recruiting Ohio students
who have an interest in science or math and in becoming teachers, and whose high school grades, classes and activities indicate
an interest in those fields. Those who come in through the community colleges will be able to finish their four-year degrees
at BGSU.
To be eligible for the scholarships, STEM students do not have to initially declare teacher education as a major but in their
first and second years must participate in experiences with Pre-K–12 students, exposing them to teaching as a profession.
This is a strategy to recruit those STEM students who may not have considered teaching as a profession by providing them with
teaching experiences early in their college education, said Dr. Rosalind Hammond, interim education dean.
The grant team anticipates enrolling about 50 students on main campus and 10 at BGSU Firelands, with another 15 each at Findlay
and Terra, 12 at Northwest State and 10 at Owens. BGSU Admissions Director Gary Swegan and Student Financial Aid Director
Greg Guzman will collaborate to set them up with the scholarships, which are renewable for four years as long as they maintain
the required grade point average and take the approved schedule of courses.
Bowling Green is equally matching the state funding, said Dr. Deanne Snavely, acting dean of the Graduate College. “Choose
Ohio First puts money directly into students’ pockets,” Snavely said. The University’s portion, coming largely from the colleges
of education and arts and sciences, in addition to Student Financial Aid, pays for hiring a director and administrative support
and for the programming on campus, she explained.
BGSU’s program builds on its longstanding strength in teacher education, Midden said, and combines that with the content areas
in science and math. The University has also been a leader in the study of teaching and learning, and will incorporate proven,
research-based teaching strategies into the content-area courses, said Midden, a chemistry faculty member. He is also the
director of COSMOS, which aims to strengthen the skills of public school science and math teachers as well as education majors.
According to the board of regents, Bowling Green’s plan “builds on BGSU’s excellent track record on graduating highly prepared
teaching professionals in Ohio.”
“A fair amount has been learned in the last 20 years about what has limited student interest in math and science,” Midden
observed. “We’re making some important changes in the ‘gateway’ courses and will use what has nationally been found to be
most effective. We will use active learning, present the material so it is meaningful and engage students in service-learning.”
The junior and senior years of the SMEA program will focus on preparing STEM education professionals through a newly designed
curriculum thread, Teachers as Researchers, that will be infused in required education-preparation coursework, Matuga explained.
SMEA students will utilize classroom research methods learned in these courses to design and conduct action research while
student teaching, thereby documenting the impact their teaching has on Pre-K–12 student learning in a STEM area.
SMEA will draw upon some of the University’s already established and proven avenues for providing students high-quality preparation
and support, in addition to the scholarship assistance. Like the AIMS program, which works with women and minorities to enroll
and mentor them through to graduate degrees in math and science, the new program begins with a five-week summer bridge experience
that brings students to campus early.
“The goal is to introduce them to the rigors of college study and give them time to get to know one another and their faculty
mentors,” Midden said.
Most SMEA students will spend their first year living in the Natural and Health Sciences Residential Community, located in
Offenhauer West, where they will have access to exam review sessions, walk-in tutoring, small-group study sessions and other
resources directly related to their coursework. “We have everything they need to get their work done,” said Robert Harr, director
of the community. “We’re giving them the opportunities and the assistance along with the synergy of working and living with
other students.”
The community will also facilitate the research projects required of each freshman and host science seminars.
The required internships and work experiences, in the sophomore year, will also help students boost their learning and ultimately
be better teachers, by demonstrating the application of knowledge in the real world. “The work experience gives teachers a
good opportunity to enrich their experience and expand their teaching,” Midden said.
Dr. James Michael Smith, vice president for economic development and regional growth, has been in discussion with hospitals
and businesses from Norwalk and Sandusky to Fremont and Toledo to explore potential sites for student placements. “There’s
going to be a large number of opportunities,” he predicted. “This will be a great way to tie industry more closely to the
educational experience.”
Building such a comprehensive program required teamwork from numerous areas on campus, Snavely said. The working group includes
members from the education college and its School of Family and Consumer Sciences, the College of Arts and Sciences, Continuing
and Extended Education, AIMS, the College of Health and Human Services, the Office of Service-Learning and COSMOS, among others.
“They all played important roles, as have faculty and administrators from each of the partnering institutions,” Midden said.
“It’s been a great collaborative effort and will continue to be,” Snavely said.
To read the SMEA proposal, visit
http://universitysystem.ohio.gov/chooseohio1st/.
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