Wake Tech Geoscience Teachers Part of Innovative STEM Education Project

RALEIGH, N.C. - Sept. 9, 2015 - PRLog -- RALEIGH, N.C. (September 9, 2015) – The National Science Foundation has awarded Wake Technical Community College $47,160 to improve STEM education, and two associate professors in geoscience have been chosen for the project: Adrianne Leinbach and Gretchen Miller will participate in Faculty as Change Agents: Transforming Geoscience Education in Two-year Colleges. The four-year project includes professional development activities designed to help community college faculty improve student performance in geoscience coursework.

Leinbach and Miller will work with faculty in geoscience at Wake Tech and at other institutions across the southeast. The project will support student success and transfer, improve active teaching techniques, and enhance pathways into geoscience careers. It will also provide professional development for faculty, promoting a cycle of innovation in which they learn from peers, make changes, and share results.

“STEM education becomes more critical every day,” said Wake Tech President Dr. Stephen Scott, “and geoscience is extremely important as we look toward our future. Students need to know about our planet to confront the growing challenges of energy consumption and conservation, and to create more sustainable ways of living.”

The project will have an impact on more than 250,000 students nationwide, preparing a workforce well trained in geoscience and other STEM fields to meet growing demand, and supporting scientific literacy.

Faculty as Change Agents is a partnership project including Highline Community College in Washington, the College of William and Mary, the University of Oregon, the University of Wisconsin-Richland, Carleton College in Minnesota, and 17 two-year colleges across the United States, including Wake Tech.