The LMU School of Education was awarded a grant in a national competition organized by the 100Kin10 initiative to increase the supply of excellent STEM teachers in the United States. The SOE grant is funded by the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, and is one of only 10 grants awarded through the competition aimed at developing high-leverage, innovative ideas and facilitating greater collaboration between partner organizations.
The grant will support the SOE’s review of its elementary teacher preparation curriculum through the lens of STEM literacy and will align it with the new standards in math, English Language Arts, science and social studies. The SOE will partner with teachers from Playa Vista Elementary School, a public LAUSD school located just down the bluff from campus, to leverage their on-the-ground expertise and experience with STEM teaching and learning.
The principal investigator is Philip Molebash, assistant professor in the Department of Specialized Programs in Urban Education and director of the Center for Math and Science Teaching. The co-PIs are:
- Jelena Trifunovic, assistant director, Center for Math and Science Teaching
- Edmundo Litton, professor, chair of the Department of Specialized Programs in Urban Education and director of the LMU/Teach For America Partnership
- Irene Oliver, professor and department chair and program director for elementary and secondary education
