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NC State gets $1.5M grant
to improve science education
Get out of the classroom and do real science. That’s the idea behind NC State’s new $1.5 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). The grant aims to improve science education through bold and creative initiatives that instill a passion for science in students of all ages.
Dr. Thurman Grove, professor of zoology, and Dr. David Haase, professor of physics and director of The Science House, an NC State science education outreach unit, say the grant’s three components will afford NC State students – and students from traditionally underserved northeastern North Carolina – hands-on experiences with science, especially biology.
That’s important, the professors say, because opportunities to delve into scientific concepts – learning by doing science rather than passively accepting lecture materials – help create the scientists of tomorrow.
“The underpinning for this project is the dearth of expertise in science and math in this country,” Grove says. “Inquiry-based learning – whether it’s called “learning by doing” or simply “research” – gets people really excited. We need to go beyond the classroom and provide alternate methods so students learn to love science.”
The four-year project begins Sept. 1.
The first component of the grant calls for the development of a new introductory biology course for non-science majors at NC State. With a goal of ensuring citizens are better informed about biological concepts and based on hands-on experiments and problem solving, the course will focus on timely, multidisciplinary scientific issues such as genetic engineering, evolution and cloning.
The grant will expand undergraduate research opportunities at NC State, and also make an impact on the K-12 population through The Science House, NC State’s science and math outreach arm.
Posted July 21, 2006
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