Texas College has been awarded funding through a Special Projects Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program (MSEIP) grant through the U.S. Department of Education in order to establish the Teaching STEM Center, an online MSEIP Training Center, e-Journal and Resource Center for improving methods of teaching science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to underserved students. In this regard, Texas College will collect, review, extract from, train, monitor, and mentor STEM professors, Teacher Education professors, and Teacher Education students, on successful instructional strategies for serving underserved students. In addition, the Center will train faculty from other open admission institutions, as well as minority and female-serving institutions of higher education to increase STEM enrollment, achievement, and post-graduation outcomes.
The Center will be beneficial as all of Texas College’s STEM and non-STEM faculty, as well as faculty from other institutions of higher education who will be able to access the Center. The program has the commitment of at least 20 Texas College and/or other open admission institution's faculty to participate in the Center as a result of Texas College's outreach efforts. Participating faculty will be trained, coached, and provided technical assistance through the Center. The funding will provide an enhancement to populate and operationalize an e-training and testing center on the Teaching STEM website.
Dr. Bassey Akpan, Professor of Computer Science, will be leading the project. Dr. Akpan expressed that the grant project will be beneficial in providing opportunities and increasing knowledge in the STEM areas.
