Rep. Steve Israel (D-Dix Hills) announced Thursday that the National Science Foundation is awarding $296,189 to SUNY Old Westbury to fund improvements to its science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs.
The state university will receive the funding over a three-year period, starting this school year, for a project that will seek changes in the curriculum to create a more customized teaching approach for its STEM students, a news release from the school said.
“Preparing the next generation of researchers, physicians and scientists is a critical need as our nation and world continue to grow more complex,” SUNY Old Westbury President Calvin Butts III said. “With this funding, we will be able to test new, creative approaches for improving STEM learning and learning environments, focused on the learning occurring in our chemistry laboratories. By challenging students to work independently in a project-oriented environment, and to think critically as scientists, our faculty expect to identify new methods to ensure the students’ knowledge-based understanding grows.”
The project will aim to replace the “cookbook-style” approach to lab teaching with methods driven by the students’ own scientific questions, said Ruomei Gao, associate professor of chemistry.
Gao is the primary investigator for the project, and one of the ways it may tailor the educational experience is by incorporating student-designed assignments into curriculums, the release said.
“Our objective is to study creative approaches for improving STEM learning and learning environments, with a focus on a research-rich and a skills-rich chemistry laboratory curriculum,” he said.
Also working on the project are two professors of chemistry, Judith Weinstein-Lloyd and Duncan Quarless Jr., and an assistant professor, Bright Emenike. The English department and College Writing Center will offer input to improve instruction on scientific writing.
The grant is part of a $5 million award from the National Science Foundation to Long Island institutions, including SUNY Old Westbury. The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory received $4,616,755 for a plant genetics study to yield new crop varieties, and a web developer, Applied Visions Inc., received $162,262 for a cybersecurity education program.
“These National Science Foundation grants are proof positive of Long Island’s continued leadership as a center of innovation and research,” Israel said. “This investment will allow for key research across a variety of scientific fields and will help promote economic growth on Long Island. Congratulations to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, SUNY Old Westbury and Applied Visions Inc. for their fine work to receive these grants.”
