WELCOME to Project SUSTAIN at OHIO

(Funded by the Ohio State Board of Regents as part of OSI-Discovery)

Project Directors:
Dr. Barbara W. Grover and Dr. Art T. Trese
email: sustain@math.ohiou.edu



GENERAL OVERVIEW

Project SUSTAIN at Ohio, begun in March 1999, is a three-year collaborative effort of the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education at Ohio University, the Southeastern (Ohio) Regional Professional Development Center (SERPDC), the Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative (ARSI), and area school districts. The project is designed to promote the collaboration of experienced teachers, preservice teachers, and university personnel in an effort to improve teacher preparation programs at the university level and to enhance the mathematics and science programs offered in public schools.

The project has two strands: The first strand begins with the recruitment of secondary teachers from southeastern Ohio and the formation of two advisory teams (one for mathematics and one for science). The advisory teams will consist of representatives from the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education, the Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative, teachers in the public schools, and preservice teachers enrolled at Ohio University. In the summer of 1999, two 5 credit graduate courses (one in science and one in mathematics, based on teacher preparation courses), will begin with an intensive week of full day classes. The courses continue with four follow-up sessions during the 1999-2000 school year. Experienced teachers and preservice teachers will attend the summer sessions and implement instructional activities during the school year based on their summer experiences. The advisory teams will assist the experienced and preservice teachers in designing and implementing the instructional activities and will assist the college professors in revising the teacher preparation courses.

The second strand will be a collaborative effort to begin designing an interdisciplinary Masters degree program specifically designed for secondary mathematics and science teachers. College professors in conjunction with the advisory teams will design and develop the courses for the program. Both strands would continue for a three year period at the end of which time, at least six teacher preparation courses would be revised, public school programs would be enhanced, and the Interdisciplinary Masters degree program would be poised to become a fully established program.

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GOALS:

Goal 1: to provide an opportunity for public school teachers, university faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education, and undergraduate students to work together to improve mathematics and science education programs at the high school, undergraduate, and graduate level.

Anticipated Outcomes

Goal 2: to provide professional development activities for experienced teachers and university professors that will deepen their content knowledge, expand their repertoire of instructional strategies, and promote a collegial relationship between experienced teachers, preservice teachers, and university faculty for their mutual benefit.

Goal 3: to develop and revise undergraduate courses specifically designed for students preparing to be secondary mathematics and science teachers.

Anticipated Outcomes for Goals 2 and 3

  • Experienced teachers, preservice teachers, and university faculty will enhance their ability to prepare instructional activities that develop conceptual understanding of content and encourage investigation, inquiry, critical thinking and analysis.
  • University faculty will enhance their ability to prepare courses that meet the new licensure standards for preservice and inservice secondary mathematics and science teachers.

Goal 4: to develop and implement an interdisciplinary masters degree program designed specifically for experienced secondary mathematics and science teachers.

Anticipated Outcomes

  • a viable Interdisciplinary Masters degree program specifically designed for secondary mathematics and science teachers would be available at Ohio University

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Participants, Responsibilities, and Benefits

Participants will be high school science and mathematics teachers who are interested in

  • improving their knowledge of the content they teach especially as that knowledge is related to the new Ohio 10th grade proficiency test outcomes for mathematics and science;
  • improving their repertoire of instructional strategies;
  • having an impact on teacher preparation programs at Ohio University; and
  • having an impact on the development of a new interdisciplinary masters program at Ohio University.
Responsibilities include
  • participating in one week of classes June 28-July 2, 1999 on the Athens campus (8am-4pm each day);
  • participating in 4 Saturday follow-up sessions (October, December, February, April) during 1999-2000 school year;
  • implementing and documenting at least 4 lesson activities based on summer classes and sharing those activities with project participants; and
  • participating in project research and evaluation activities (e.g., completing surveys, attending a focus group session).
Benefits include
  • enhancing the participant's ability to build a network of colleagues who will be resources for future endeavors designed to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics and science;
  • earning 5 graduate credits with tuition and fees paid by the project; and
  • earning a stipend of $100 for the summer and up to $80 for the follow-up sessions.

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For further information, please contact Dr. Barbara Grover at sustain@math.ohiou.edu


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This page has been created on March 24, 1999, and is being maintained by Heather Krugman.