Projects

• Principal Investigator: Jacqueline E. Huntoon
• Division: Administration
• Department: Provost Office
• Co-PIs: Shari Stockero, Joshua A. Ellis, Kedmon N. Hungwe, and Amanda L. Gonczi
• Sponsor: National Science Foundation
• Funding Source Type: Federal
• Requested Amount: $1,887,979
• Budget Start: March 2018
• Budget End: Feb 2024

• Date Submitted: 6/16/2017
• Principal Investigator: Adam D. Feltz
• Division: College of Sciences and Arts
• Department: Psychology and Human Factors
• Co-PIs: L. Syd M. Johnson and Silke H. Feltz
• Sponsor: Animal Charity Evaluators
• Funding Source Type: Other
• Requested Amount: $15,437
• Budget Start: 8/1/2017
• Budget End: 2/1/2019

• Date Submitted: 12/2/2016
• Principal Investigator: Shari Stockero
• Division: College of Sciences and Arts
• Department: Psychology and Human Factors
• Sponsor: National Science Foundation
• Funding Source Type: Federal
• Requested Amount: $590,590
• Budget Start: 9/1/2017
• Budget End: 8/31/2021

Video-Assisted Research on High School Mathematics Learning

This CAREER awardee at Michigan Technological University is investigating the outcomes of a teacher education model designed to foster prospective mathematics teachers’ abilities to notice and capitalize on important mathematical moments in instruction.

• Principal Investigator: Shari Stockero, Department of Psychology and Human Factors
• Funding: NSF, CAREER

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This is an NSF CAREER grant which runs from 2011 to 2017.

The researcher engages prospective teachers in research-like analysis of unedited teacher-perspective classroom video early in their teacher education coursework in order to help them learn to identify, assess the mathematical potential of, and respond to, important student ideas and insights that arise during instruction.

Get Involved

The research is based on a quasi-experimental design and involves three cohorts of prospective teachers. Practicing teachers from local schools collaborate with the research team. The data collected consists of classroom video. The video is coded and analyzed using Studiocode, which allows for real-time coding and for multiple users to code and annotate video segments.

The research findings are integrated into the institution’s teacher education program and are also disseminated more broadly through publication and presentations at professional meetings.

Environmental Engineering in High School Science

Promoting Learning About Computational Tools and the Environment (PLACE) will focus on the application of computational tools for researching environmental engineering systems. Teachers will gain an understanding of how to apply state of the art computational tools to research environmental systems and how to solve environmental problems. The tools and research projects have relevant applications in high school science (earth sciences, biology, chemistry, physics), math, and social studies.

• Principal Investigator: Alex Mayer, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Co-PI: Noel Urban, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Co-PI: Emily Dare, Department of Psychology and Human Factors
• Funding: NSF, Research Experiences for Teachers

Learn More

PLACE is an NSF RET (Research Experiences for Teachers) Site. The RET Site runs from 2016 to 2018.

Get Involved

This RET is open to rural high school teachers in the Upper Peninsula, and will involve PhD students and senior personnel. This RET Site will offer an intensive six-week summer research program for a total of 30 rural, secondary STEAM teachers over three years from school districts in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, several of which include significant numbers of Native American students.

Earth Science Education in Michigan

Michigan Teaching Excellence Program (MiTEP) is a multi-year program of teacher leadership development that empowers urban earth science teachers to lead their schools and districts through the process of systematically improving science teaching and learning. Teachers are at the center of the project, as they are critical to the long-term success of school improvement efforts.

Principal Investigator: Brad Baltensperger, Department of Psychology and Human Factors

Co-PI: Jacqueline Huntoon, Provost and Geological and Mining Sciences

Project Director: Chris Wojick, Great Lakes Research Center

Funding: NSF, Math-Science Partnerships

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MiTEP organizes Michigan EarthCaches, which can be used by other educators, students, and the public to help translate Earth’s processes into a local experience. Two courses, Earth Systems Institute I and II, introduce earth science content to Michigan science teachers in inquiry form with a focus in applying what they learn to their classrooms.

Partner Districts

• Grand Rapids Public Schools
• Jackson Public Schools
• Kalamazoo Public Schools

Next Generation Science Standards Training

Engaging Students in Physical Science seeks to help secondary physical science and physics teachers improve their understanding and use of inquiry-based and engineering-integrated instruction. Michigan has recently approved the performance expectations within the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). This transition from current state science standards to NGSS is important as these teachers will soon be expected to bring engineering practices to their science classrooms, but may lack training in this area.

Principal Investigator: Emily Dare, Department of Psychology and Human Factors, College of Sciences and Arts

Co-PI: Joshua A. Ellis, Department of Psychology and Human Factors, College of Sciences and Arts

Co-PI: John L. Irwin, College of Engineering

Funding: Michigan Department of Education

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EPDIS seeks to improve teachers' conceptual knowledge of physical science and engineering practices, helping them develop improved student-centered practices for teaching physical science subjects. Instructional focus will be placed on improving skills to delivery inquiry-based science instruction in the classroom that will increase student motivation and learning. Instructors will be trained on how to provide students with meaningful, real-world contexts and applications by learning about engineering design processes.

Partner Districts

• Bridgeport-Spaulding Community Schools
• Western Upper Peninsula School Districts