About Noyce Fellowship
Noyce Fellowship
The Noyce Fellowship project will have a broad impact on underrepresented groups:
On the national level, the need for improved Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, especially among minorities, has been extensively documented in several recent reports.
In President Barack Obama’s 2011 State of the Union address, he called for training 100,000 new math and science teachers over the next 10 years. In a September 2011 address, Dr. Rebecca Blank, the Acting Secretary of Commerce also noted the importance of the United States doing a better job attracting students into STEM fields and the need to reach out to under-represented communities.
A report by the Economics and Statistics Administration (2011) entitled “Education Supports Racial and Ethnic Equality in STEM” noted that 74 percent of STEM workers are male, compared to 6 percent who are Hispanic, 6 percent African-American, and 14 percent Asian-American.
The recruitment processes for the Fellows will be targeted to attract a diverse range of applicants, many of whom are likely to be from these historically under-represented groups. The program will enhance teaching and learning by offering a professional development program to mathematics teachers that will deepen and expand their knowledge of mathematics as it pertains to the secondary curriculum, and will enhance their ability to teach the curriculum effectively.
The program builds district capacity and promotes sustainability in that it will increase both the number of teachers in Florida Memorial University with advanced degrees in mathematics, and the number of teacher leaders who are capable of facilitating and delivering site-based professional development activities.
The outcomes of the professional development activities and the program will be shared on several levels: as part of their preparation, the Master Teaching Fellows will co-facilitate program activities and will present at professional conferences, and the leadership team will disseminate information to mathematics education communities through publications and conference presentations.
The broader impacts of the program include a viable model for institutional change which emphasizes a standards infused graduate education for all science and mathematics teachers; teacher appreciation of higher level multidisciplinary connections and technology enrichments; and university faculty understanding and awareness of school district standards and pedagogy.
Completion of this program at Florida Memorial University will contribute to increasing the number of highly qualified minority science and mathematics teachers who will be equipped to work with students and their families from diverse backgrounds in urban schools. These teachers also will be knowledgeable of best practices for improving science and mathematics literacy and competent in conducting action research to determine which interventions are best suited for the students they will be teaching. These Master Teachers can return to their schools with knowledge, confidence, and leadership skills as a powerful force for change in the urban schools of South Florida. They will use these newly developed skills to serve as mentors for other teachers in their schools. As graduate students they will be required to participate in interdisciplinary conferences and workshops, and present their educational research results which demonstrate the development, adoption, adaptation and/or dissemination of effective models and pedagogic approaches to teaching. Overall the project is designed to improve pre-K–12 STEM education and advance teacher development in mathematics and science.
Since STEM workers earn a premium of 25 percent over other workers and have only a 5.5 percent unemployment rate, there are strong economic incentives to get more people into STEM fields.
team
Dr. Thelma C. Lawton
Principal Investigator, Associate Professor, Math Education Coordinator, Elementary Education
Dr. Mildred E. Berry
Co- Principal Investigator, Professor
Dr. Zadegan
Co- Principal Investigator
Dr. Rose Stiffin
Co- Principal Investigator, Department of Health & Natural Sciences, Chair
Has a PhD in Biochemistry, and has been at Florida Memorial University since 1999 and the Department Chair since 2002.
Research Areas: organic chemistry, synthetic organic chemistry; green chemistry organic synthesis. Synthesizing and testing libraries of novel compounds for their biological activity. Understanding the evolutionary aspect of classes of enzymes; using IHC to examine tissue for proteins up-regulated during tumorigenesis or cancer development. These current topics of investigation and those we hope to start in the near future are designed to provide meaningful and informative research projects for any science/chemistry seeking degrees in chemistry or biology. Dr. Stiffin currently has two patents.
Dr. Simeon E Newbold, Sr.
Board Member
Dr. Simeon Eugene Newbold, Sr. is a
native of Miami, Florida born as the fourth child from the union of David
Jerome Newbold, Sr. and Catherine Melvina Higgs. He is an ordained Episcopal
Priest.
Dr.
Newbold holds four academic degrees: a B.S. in Social Work and an M.Ed in
Supervision Administration from Tuskegee University; an M.Div from the
Episcopal Seminary of Seabury-Western; an D.Min from The Samuel DeWitt Proctor
School of Theology at Virginia Union University.
Dr.
Newbold has served as professor at Hampton University, Saint Paul's College,
and Richmond Virginia Seminary in the area of Religious Studies. He has also
served on the faculty at Miami Dade College (Wolfson Campus) and lectured at
Elizabeth City State University and Alabama State University.
Dr.
Newbold has been an invited speaker at both Baccalaureate and Convocation
events as well an advisor to College Presidents. He has advised and helped a
number of young people over the years to enter higher education via his
contacts and "Hands On" approach.
Dr.
Newbold served as Vice President of the Peter/Paul Development Center's Board
of Directors. An organization which provides afterschool and enrichment
programs for high risk youth in inner-city Richmond, Virginia. The organization
also offers various programs for area Senior Citizens.
As
a major leader of the board, Dr. Newbold played an active part in generating
revenue for the construction of a new Center. The $1.6 million dollar
Peter/Paul Development Center stands today as a testimony of God's love in an
area which is the most social/economic deprived area in the City of Richmond.
Dr.
Newbold has participated in other community projects and fund raisers events
over the years.
Since
1982, Dr. Newbold has been an avid Scuba Diver, diving some of the most sought
after dive destinations in the world. He is certified as a Rescue Diver, the
highest certification for recreational diving. In addition to scuba diving, Dr.
Newbold enjoys inline skating, bike riding, reading, working out, and hanging
out with family and friends. He is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.,
Union of Black Episcopalians (Life Member), and National Association of Black
Scuba Divers.
Dr.
Newbold is the proud father of two adult children, Simeon, Jr. and Krishna
Alanna.
Dr. Christine Todd-Gibson
Board Member
Christine has served students and teachers in
the capacity of educator for 20 years in the Miami-Dade school district. Her
qualifications include extensive knowledge of interdisciplinary science,
curriculum planning, and professional development. As a science teacher,
Christine has worked with students to gain knowledge of science, to practice
how to use the knowledge, and to extend the science knowledge to their lives
through problem, project, and service learning. As a professional developer,
Christine has trained secondary science teachers through coaching, modeling,
summer institutes, workshops, and through online communication, while working
in the capacities of curriculum support specialist, school-site administrator,
and educational specialist. She has also collaborated with the Florida
Department of Education to rewrite the current Next Generation Sunshine State
Standards for Earth/ Space Science.
Recently, Christine received her doctoral
degree at Florida Atlantic University, in Curriculum, Culture, and Educational
inquiry. She conducted a study with middle school science teachers to examine
how they conduct collaborative inquiry about how to deepen students’ conceptual
understanding and determined that the best part of her study was simply talking
and strategizing with her colleagues for students. For that matter, talking and
laughing, planning and co-teaching, conferring and performing with fellow
teachers are important in Christine’s work days. Dr. Todd-Gibson is passionate
about teaching and learning, continues to be inspired by her students, and is
committed to bringing innovative and fun programs to science education.
Dr. Lisa Milenkovic
Board Member
Dr. Milenkovic is a Science Curriculum Supervisor at Broward
County Public Schools. She also is a strong advocate for computer science
education for all students, helping lead Broward Schools to be the worldwide
leader in Hour of Code participation for the 2013 Computer Science Education Week.
Dr. Milenkovic is the District Director for the K-12 STEM Olympiad and other
programs to engage students and teachers in STEM. She has a doctorate in
Analytical Chemistry (Ph.D., Northeastern University), with experience as a
consultant in laboratory automation and training adult learners in technology
applications. Dr. Milenkovic has elementary classroom experience as a K-5
science resource teacher and 5th grade classroom teacher. She is a grant
recipient and awardee for innovative programs, currently leading a National
Science Foundation sponsored study of the effects of introducing computer
science in K-5 on student achievement. Dr. Milenkovic is experienced in
designing and providing engaging, informative and resourceful professional
development to teachers K-12.
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