P.G. Schrader (Teaching & Learning) and MaryKay Orgill (Chemistry) were awarded $749,700 from the National Science Foundation for their grant proposal titled Cyber-Learning Activities to Scaffold STEM Practices (CLASSP). The grant will look at how innovative, cyber-enabled instructional methods can transform STEM education and increase opportunities for underrepresented middle school student populations. CLASSP addresses this by developing, implementing, and testing a cyber-learning methodology to elevate STEM learning opportunities and success for underrepresented minority and rural middle school students in Nevada. Research on video games has informed this approach, which combines a proven system for online inquiry with feedback. This system is being developed in concert with a community of practitioners within the existing Nevada Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP) network that addresses the college preparation of underrepresented populations. GEAR UP will help identify and CLASSP will target an audience of middle school students from ethnically and racially diverse and economically disadvantaged communities. Through this partnership, the impact of the project's cyber-learning methodology will be piloted online and in face-to-face interactions with students in the urban settings of Reno and Las Vegas. Next, the project will expand to meet the interests and needs of rural educators and students in remote areas of Nevada. With experimental cyber-learning methods and low technology requirements, CLASSP is capable of being integrated into the most rudimentary technology infrastructures. The lessons learned will inform teacher training and STEM education of diverse students.
