Premium
Funding success following STEM teacher mentoring drives classroom innovation
Author(s) -
Rockhold Rob,
Sullivan Donna,
Bender Susan
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.810.5
Subject(s) - receipt , medical education , medical school , psychology , medicine , business , accounting
From 1994 through 2013, mentoring of high school science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) teachers in grant‐writing exercises by medical center faculty resulted in submission of 158 applications for funding of inquiry‐based classroom activities, of which 123 (78%) were funded and which brought over $575,000 of new funds into classrooms. The Base Pair Summer Research Institute at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, provided directed training in identifying funding sources, describing needs and delineating defined outcomes to 157 high school STEM teachers for periods of 1 to 6 weeks. Of these, 37 (24%) responded to a 2016 online survey, 31 of whom had submitted at least one application (mean of 3.6 grants/teacher, range 1–7). The majority (13) garnered from $500–$2,000 from funded applications, but 5 teachers each gained a total of over $10,000. Teachers (77%) receiving grants expressed “much more” or “more” job satisfaction, while 74% felt grant writing increased a perception of professionalism, and 83% indicated that the funding “greatly increased” or “increased” their ability to teach effectively. Students (93%) were reported to be “much more engaged” or “more engaged” in the classrooms using grant funds. Despite these findings, only 30% of teachers reported receiving “much more” (2) or “more” (7) recognition from their school administration for receipt of funding. Mentoring of high school teachers by medical center faculty builds professionalism and job satisfaction among teachers, bolsters student engagement, and provides critically needed monetary support for educational innovation in STEM classrooms. Increased efforts are needed to address the inconsistent recognition of such professional development by secondary school administrators. Support or Funding Information (Supported by Precollege Science Education awards from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.)