Funded Projects
The Center for Mathematics and Science Education is a grant-funded center working to provide professional development for teachers, STEM experiences for students, and opportunities for all to learn and grow together. The CMSE relies heavily on funded projects to increase participation and provide opportunities for our teachers, students, administrators, and leaders in STEM education. Since 2006, the CMSE has been able to secure funded projects that have supported many high-quality experiences and the staff will continue to seek out funding to help us continue our mission.
Current CMSE Projects
The DDES Math Partnership program is a professional development project between the CMSE and Della Davidson Elementary School in the Oxford School District. This partnership is designed to analyze the impact of long-term mathematics professional development within a whole-school setting in teachers’ perceptions of mathematics teaching and learning.
The STEM Teaching with Embedded Primary Sources (STEPS) Project is funded by the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Midwest region. The CMSE will design in-person professional development experiences in which participants will find, evaluate, and use historical primary sources from the Library of Congress. Participants will also develop and revise a science, mathematics, or STEM-focused lesson plan or course module using the Library’s Teaching with Primary Sources materials.
Past CMSE Projects
The Mathematics Mentoring Academy for Teachers of Exceptional Students was a professional learning opportunity provided by the Center for Mathematics and Science Education for mathematics co-teaching teams (one general education math teacher and one special education teacher from the same school). The goal of the MathMATES project was to support teachers by:
- Strengthening teachers’ mathematical content knowledge specifically related to conceptual understanding
- Reinforcing collaboration between math teachers and special education teachers using a collaborative consultation model; and,
- Fusing the collective knowledge of the team along with the individual strengths of each team member to best meet the diverse learning needs of exceptional students.
This project was funded by the MS Space Grant Consortium.
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The Mississippi Forge Forward initiative was a grant funded by the U.S. Department of Defense which fostered collaboration between the Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence and the Center for Mathematics and Science Education both located on the University of Mississippi campus. Two summer programs were offered in 2022. The student summer experience engaged “work-eligible” students in hands-on experiences focused on how cutting-edge technology provides a new pathway for manufacturing. Educators attended a summer institute focused on providing information about the manufacturing industry to enable instructors/teachers/counselors to prepare the next generation of the manufacturing workforce for the state of Mississippi.
The Building Content Knowledge of Elementary Teachers of Science (BuCKETS) Project was an IUSE: EHR Exploration and Design Tier for Engaged Student Learning project designed to bridge the gap between research, best practices, and curricular supports in the undergraduate classroom for preservice elementary teachers (PSETs) at the University of Mississippi. Using a Design-Based Research (The Design-Based Research Collective, 2003) approach with an embedded treatment-control design, BuCKETS provided robust learning experiences for non-science majors, specifically preservice elementary teachers (PSETs) majors, resulting in
1) increasing PSETs’ content knowledge (CK) in science,
2) increasing science pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and
3) changing teaching practices related to non-major science undergraduates.
The UM Noyce Teachers for a New Tomorrow (TNT) Scholarship Program at the University of Mississippi was funded by the National Science Foundation Robert Noyce Program. The scholarship program (2012-2021) was part of the Professional Learning Division of the Center for Mathematics and Science Education. Qualified recipients received a scholarship in the amount of up to $10,000 per term (not to exceed the cost of attendance). Upon completion of the teacher education program, Noyce Scholars committed to teaching in any public school in Mississippi (or a high-need school district in any other state) for one year for each term scholarship funds were received.
In 2018 and 2019, the Science Teacher Leaders Academy (STLA) provided a year-long professional development program for elementary and secondary science teachers. The goal of both academies were to establish leaders across the state who are knowledgeable about the 2018 Mississippi College-and Career- Readiness Standards for Science. Both programs sought to develop leaders who understood and were willing to share research-based practices for implementing core elements such as Science and Engineering Practices and Crosscutting Concepts with other teachers at the school, district, and state level. STLA and STLA 2 were funded by the Mississippi Space Grant Consortium.
The Creating Continuity and Connections across Content (C4) project envisioned consistent and coherent mathematics instruction across kindergarten through eighth grade mathematics classrooms in which students engaged in learning through problem solving and teachers utilized ongoing formative assessment. The year-long professional development course for teachers consisted of the following: a two week summer institute, three academic follow-ups, an annual conference, and online interaction and resources. C4 was funded from 2016-2018 by the Mississippi Department of Education Math & Science Partnership program.
The goals of this project were to:
- Provide quality, research- based mathematics professional development for teachers in grades K-8 that deepened the content knowledge of the teachers in order for them to better prepare students to become college and career ready.
- For teachers to gain a deeper understanding of the progression of content as it is developed across the elementary and middle school grade levels.
- For participants to enhance their understanding of formative assessment and how to act on formative assessment data when planning instruction.
The Developing Excellence in Education through Professional Learning Communities (DEEPLC) project focused on supporting professional learning communities among 4th-8th grade teachers at partner school sites. Participants learned effective way to foster a classroom environment that engaged students by having them develop a deep understanding of mathematics concepts, making sense of problems, constructing viable arguments, and making use of the structure of mathematics. DEEP LC was funded from 2013-2016 by the Mississippi Department of Education and Science Partnership program.
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Promoting Innovation in Mathematics Education (PrIME) was funded from 2010 to 2013 to support mathematics instruction in 4th-8th grades. Project PrIME mobilized more than 100 Mississippi educators, primarily in high-needs districts, to undergo in-depth summer institutes that focused on mathematics content knowledge and practices. Over 20,000 students were impacted by the 131 teachers who attended the summer institutes. Eighty-seven percent of teachers in attendance represented high-need schools. The Mississippi Department of Education Math & Science Partnership program funded Project PrIME.
In 2010 and 2011, the Mathematically Proficient Leaders in Elementary Schools (MaPLES) project brought together second and third grade mathematics teachers in Lee County, Mississippi. The instructors utilized content-focused workshops that enhanced their mathematical knowledge and increased their average performance on a university-administered content exam by more than four points just after one year. Seventeen teachers participated in MaPLES that impacted three hundred and eighty students. There was a seventeen percent increase in students scoring proficient or advanced on the 3rd grade state mathematics assessment. This project was funded by a U.S. Congressional Initiative.