Center for Mathematics and Science
Education / UNC Chapel Hill
Annual Report 1999-2000
Founded in 1981 and funded by the state since 1984, the Center's
mission is to bring the resources of UNC Chapel Hill to bear in
the improvement of mathematics and science education. The Center's
mission covers the entire state, but most of its programs are
designed to serve K-12 mathematics and science teachers within
a 17-county region within commuting distance of Chapel Hill. Since
1988, the Center has also housed the UNC-CH Pre-College
Program, a student encouragement program in mathematics and
science for students of grades 6-12 in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro,
Durham, and Orange County school systems.
The Center addresses its mission in four ways:
- A program of professional development
activities for teachers of mathematics and science;
- Collaborative professional development and curriculum improvement
projects supporting the reform efforts of local school systems;
- The UNC-CH Pre-College
Program; and
- Support for School of Education degree programs for new teachers
and for experienced teachers.
The Center's program of professional development courses and
workshops remained strong during 1999-2000, with a total of 747
enrollments. Highlights of this program include:
- Launch of a new project, the Triangle Science Education Collaborative
(TSEC), funded by a new $120,000 grant from the Eisenhower program
of the U.S. Department of Education;
- The second year of a three-year project, Global
Science Leaders for the 21st Century, funded by a $90,000
grant from the Eisenhower program of the U.S. Department of Education;
- Conclusion of the six-year North
Carolina Leadership Network for Earth Science Teachers (NCLNEST)
project, funded by a $1.7 million grant from the National Science
Foundation;
- Presentation of six Eisenhower-funded projects designed as
joint efforts with area school systems;
- Award of four new Eisenhower grants, including TSEC; and
- Continued support for innovative science curricula and projects,
especially GLOBE, AIMS, and GEMS,
through a program of Center-sponsored workshops.
The Pre-College Program also remained strong throughout the
year. 901 students from 17 schools participated, and over 90%
of the students attended on-campus programs.
The Center worked more and more closely with several area systems
to provide solutions for local problems.
- The Center, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, and Granville
County Schools have organized Project
TIES to help teachers implement classroom technology. In
June 2000, this project linking the faculties of a Chapel Hill
school and two rural schools in northern Granville County received
a new $150,000 technology challenge grant from the NC Department
of Public Instruction (NCDPI).
- The Center and Chatham County Schools have designed an ambitious
local systemic reform project
for K-8 science instruction, assisted by a $49,852 planning grant
from the National Science Foundation. Although a proposal to
NSF to implement this project was not funded during 1999-2000,
a new proposal will be submitted in the next year. In the meantime,
a number of the project's activitieshave begun.
- The Center worked with the Durham Public Schools to bring
a leadership team from that system to the NCDPI Science Infrastructure
Workshop during the summer of 2000. The Center is also working
with the NCSU Science House in support of science infrastructure
teams from Wake, Harnett, Johnston, and Cumberland Counties.
Believing that the future of professional development may be
very different from the past, the Center is assuming new roles
in teacher continuing education. Several of these efforts helped
tie the Center more closely to other programs of the UNC Chapel
Hill School of Education.
- The Center and the North Carolina Teacher Academy designed
a new NCTA workshop for
earth science teachers based on the curriculum developed by the
NCLNEST project. This project, supported both by NCTA resources
and a $30,000 Eisenhower grant, provided professional development
for 129 teachers from across the state during the summer of 1999.
- The Center assisted the School of Education in the design
of a new masters of education degree for experienced teachers.
The Center and its staff will play important roles in the delivery
of this degree program, which will be offered off campus and
through online and other distance education techniques.
- The Center and the School of Education launched an effort
to design a suitable structure for the offering of online courses,
including professional development courses, through the facilities
of LEARN North Carolina, a statewide Internet resource for teachers.
CMSE's is supported in part by state appropriation, but most
of our program funds are raised through external grants and contracts.
During 1999-2000, CMSE received $251,460 in external funding.
In particular, CMSE received $218,046 in funding from the Eisenhower
program of the U.S. Department of Education. For the ninth
year in a row, CMSE and UNC Chapel Hill led all North Carolina
colleges and universities in Eisenhower funding.
Thanks to these and other promising initiatives, the Center
looks forward with confidence to playing an increasingly important
role in programs of outreach and support to mathematics and science
teachers during the coming years.
Russell J. Rowlett
Director
Staff and Organization
| Professional Development Activities
| External Funding
