NCSA Funded to Build Community of Science Education Advocates
Description
The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) recently received $599,965 from the National Science Foundation's Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program to create a community of science education advocates who are expert in 21st century science and pedagogy and who will be well prepared to teach in today's rural high school classroom. The funded project is called Illinois Computational Chemistry Champions (I-C3).Building on the success of the Institute for Chemistry Literacy through Computational Science (ICLCS), I-C3 will focus on deepening teachers' understanding of computational methods and their role in the chemistry classroom and will provide them with support to earn national recognition. Teachers will participate in a research experience to better understand the nature of science and will work with University of Illinois chemistry faculty to better prepare students for college-level work. By the project's end, participants will gain National Board Certification and the Illinois Master Teacher designation. The participating teachers will become champions of science education in their communities, school districts, and the state of Illinois.