News Release

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June 29, 2006

Boise State Receives Significant Teaching Grant From the National Science Foundation

Boise State University’s College of Education recently received a $494,000 Robert Noyce Scholarship Program grant from the National Science Foundation. The grant will help encourage students majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics to become K-12 teachers in those areas.

Students who enter the program will also agree to spend two years teaching in a high-need school for every year they receive funding. That should help alleviate the desperate need for qualified teachers in those subject fields, said Rickie Miller, a professor in Boise State’s Curriculum, Instruction and Foundation Studies Department.

Many math and science teachers are currently teaching outside of their range of experience. According to statistics provided by the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century, more than 1 in 4 high school mathematics teachers and nearly 1 in 5 high school science teachers lack even a minor in their main teaching field.

Miller is hoping that Boise State’s new NSF grant will help provide experienced, enthusiastic teachers. “The biggest thing is to get teachers to be excited about the field,” Miller said.

Participants will receive $10,000 per year, enough to cover their tuition, books, fees and part of their housing. In addition, each student will receive mentoring from a faculty member who will check grades and arrange for extra study help, if needed. The entire program will work with an advisory team made up members of the university and the private sector.

Boise State will begin accepting the applications for the program in the fall, and the first cohort will begin classes during the 2007 spring semester. For more information about the program, contact Miller at rmiller@boisestate.edu.

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Contact: Rickie Miller, College of Education, rmiller@boisestate.edu
Media Contact: Julie Hahn, University Communications, (208) 426-5540, juliehahn@boisestate.edu

July 12 is the deadline for undergraduate academic degree-seeking students to submit admission materials to Boise State University for the fall 2006 semester. Students must meet the deadline if they plan to take more than seven credits or apply for federal financial aid. For more information, call (208) 426-1820 or go online at http://admissions.boisestate.edu.
 

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Last reviewed on Wednesday, January 03, 2007