University of Minnesota Receives Stimulus Money to Support STEM

November 2, 2009

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have received nearly $1 million in stimulus funds from the National Institutes of Health to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.

Educational psychology professors Asha Jitendra and Jennifer McComas, who are both Rodney Wallace Professors for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, will test, over a two-year period, the efficiency of schema-based instruction, as opposed to the standard math-tutoring intervention, to improve the mathematical skills of about 260 third-graders. These students represent a diverse sampling of 40 Minneapolis area classrooms. The researchers will also investigate whether the intervention improves attitudes about mathematics.

“Students who do not develop academic competence in areas such as math are at risk for poor outcomes in school, as well as difficulties that limit their vocational opportunities in later years,” Jitendra said. “We’re very excited to receive this grant, which will address the chronic and pervasive difficulties that third-grade students who struggle with math evidence.”

Source: University of Minnesota News, October 21