Teachers’ aid
Henderson State’s STEM Center receives boost from education grant
The Henderson State University STEM Center assists local teachers of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in developing strategies for teaching those subjects. The center received a three-year, $145,310 grant to enhance professional development for such teachers.
The grant comes from the Department of Education in the nation’s capital but is sponsored and distributed by the Arkansas Department of Education. Kindergarten through fourth-grade science is the STEM Center’s aim for use of the funds.
“The reason is that our new Arkansas science standards will be implemented in K-4 in fall of 2016,” said Betty Ramsey, STEM Center director. “And because science has not been taught very much over the last few years, with No Child Left Behind testing, it’s been shoved off in the corner and considered unimportant. Well, with the new science standards, third- through 10th-graders are going to be tested now [on science]. Science has become important, finally.”
Henderson’s STEM Center is one of 11 in the state, one at every major university, complete with a science and a math specialist at each center. This concentration of teacher assistance is one of the highest in the country.
“We’re very lucky here in Arkansas — teachers are — to have these resources,” Ramsey said.
The new science standards, based on Next Generation Science Standards, have an engineering component, so the center will also focus on working with teachers to include these criteria in their lesson plans, even in kindergarten. This year, three biology professors are slated to help teach the content portion of life science, which
is the first year of a threeyear program that will target a new division of science education each year.
Science standards in the state now call for students to be hands-on with learning in an inquiry style. Traditional education dictates that students stay tucked away in classrooms listening to lectures. This is one way education is shifting from the traditional model, especially in science.
“That’s not how science is done,” Ramsey said. “We’re trying to teach our teachers how to do science with our kids, not just talk to them about it.”
America is sorely lacking scientists, engineers and mathematicians. Even moreso, the country lacks teachers in these subjects. These new standards are helping to encourage more children to grow up and fill these needs in the workforce.
Henderson’s STEM Center covers the southwest portion of the state, which includes more than 40 school districts. Henderson students who are pursuing degrees to teach STEM subjects — known as preservice students — are also able to use the resources provided by the center. The center’s math specialist is Deanna Dennis, and the science specialist is Greg Wertenberger.
The center houses materials that teachers and students can check out. Such materials include lesson-plan books and science kits that allow classes to do hands-on experimentation.
Ramsey said the need for STEM professionals is evident in everyday life throughout the country, and her goal is to help meet those needs through the STEM Center’s work.
“If you think about it, everything in our world depends on science,” Ramsey said. “If our kids don’t understand how the world works, they’re not going to be able to make good decisions. Our focus on teaching science through an inquiry method is to teach students how to think and not what to think.”
For more information about Henderson’s STEM Center, go to hsu.edu/stemcenter.