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About CSMATE |
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Mission The Center for Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education (CSMATE) at Colorado State University is widely recognized for its high quality teacher professional development programs, innovative curricula, and effective applications of technology. Our mission is to improve teaching and enhance learning for all students, K-16. We do this by developing high quality programs, and dynamic partnerships with K-12 schools, higher education, government, and business. CSMATE began in 1989 as a shared vision of administration and faculty at Colorado State University to enhance science, mathematics, and technology education at the undergraduate and K-12 levels. To fulfill this vision, CSMATE aggressively campaigns to raise programmatic funds from public and private sources to supplement the operational support provided from Colorado State University. CSMATE has a proven record of success in this area. Sponsored by the College of Natural Sciences, CSMATE helps K-16 teachers and students develop the content knowledge, technical and communications skills, and resources they need to succeed in the 21st century. CSMATE staff represent a unique blend of expertise including scientists, mathematicians, School of Education faculty, K-12 teachers, curriculum developers and designers, and technology specialists. CSMATE efforts are focused
in four main areas: CSMATE promotes "best practices" in teaching, learning, and assessment. We use a wide range of instructional methodologies and technologies to promote enhanced teaching and learning in field, classroom, laboratory, and online environments. Our courses and workshops support hands-on, inquiry-based investigations of core concepts in science and mathematics, tied to district and state standards. We honor K-16 teachers as professionals and believe that mathematics, science, and technology can and should be accessible to all students. 2. Curriculum and Materials CSMATE staff develop innovative, standards-based curriculum materials in science and mathematics for undergraduate and secondary classrooms. Our materials encourage students to pose questions, develop experiments, collect, analyze and interpret data, and apply their learning to new situations. Of particular note is our Small-Scale Chemistry curriculum in chemistry which has been incorporated into secondary and college classrooms across the country. 3. Research on Teaching and Learning CSMATE staff and associated graduate and post-doctoral fellows engage in collaborative research investigations to advance our understanding of theory and practice affecting classroom instruction and student achievement in science, mathematics, and technology. Areas of current focus include student cognition, development and use of assessments, applications of distance and visualization technologies, and differences in achievement between different student populations. 4. Innovative use of Technology CSMATE develops and tests innovative technologies to improve teaching and learning in classroom, field, laboratory, and online environments. Our current efforts focus on developing powerful digital images and models of key science concepts, and improving K-16 teacher and student access to the wealth of scientific and mathematics resources that exist on the Internet. CSMATE Programs, History, and Impact To these ends, with funding from the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Education, and numerous other government and foundation sources, for 13 years, CSMATE has planned and conducted 33 major science, mathematics, and technology education projects. These projects have ranged from one to five years in duration and have directly benefited 150 university faculty in Colorado, 200 community college faculty nationwide, 2400 inservice teachers nationwide, and 575 preservice teachers. Through these individuals and associated curricula CSMATE has affected the science, mathematics, and technology education of hundreds of thousands of K-16 students. A representative cross section of current and past CSMATE projects is provided below: * American Indians Bridging Culture with Small-Scale Science * CIMI: Colorado Integrated Mathematics Initiative * CLT West: The Center for Learning and Teaching in the West * CO-AMP: Colorado Alliance for Minority Participation * COBRAS: Classroom Based Research on the Achievement of Students * CONNECT: Colorado's Statewide Systemic Initiative for Mathematics and Science * CO-STEP: Colorado Science Teacher Enhancement Project * CSTC: Colorado Science Teacher Consultants * DWEL: Digital Water Education Library * Earth and Space Science Standards Project * EMTEP and REMTEP: Elementary and Regional Elementary Mathematics Teacher Enhancement Project * ITC: International Telementoring Center * MidMath: Reform Mathematics for Middle School students and teachers * MINDS: Minority Initiative in Denver Schools * National Alliance for Secondary Science * Pollution Prevention in General Chemistry Project * Powerful Pictures: A Conceptually-based curriculum for First Year Chemistry * RTPI: Rural Teacher Preparation Initiative * S3TAR: Small-Scale Science- Teachers- as Researchers These larger scale projects, are complemented by shorter, more specialized summer workshops wherein teachers pay their own fees. In addition, teachers and principals, nationwide, participate in Annenberg CPB/Harvard Smithsonian produced science and mathematics distance learning courses, facilitated by CSMATE. Additionally, CSMATE co-sponsors and helps to direct the Colorado Science and Engineering Fair, currently in it 47th year at CSU. One of CSMATE's current campus-wide, NSF funded projects is the Center for Learning and Teaching in the West (CLT West). CSMATE is a primary partner in this unique, multi-state/institutional consortium that is working to develop the next generation of leaders in mathematics and science education. CLT West's mission is to better serve students who have traditionally not benefited from science and mathematics education reform and to provide on-site and online support for secondary teachers in high needs settings. One of the cornerstones of CSMATE's success is the National Center for Small-Scale Science (NCSSS) founded to develop and disseminate Small-Scale Science methods and technology. Small-Scale Science was developed by Dr. Stephen Thompson over two decades ago, as an innovative approach to teaching science. This pedagogy is based on creativity, invention, problem-solving, and authentic assessment using inquiry based, hands-on, time efficient, inexpensive, and conservation-based experiments. Small-Scale Science is rooted in the sound philosophy that students can take greater responsibility for their own learning. CSMATE moved into the Natural and Environmental Sciences Building on the campus of Colorado State University in August, 1994. Twelve thousand square feet of new office space, laboratories, and classrooms centralize CSMATE operations and provide staff the means for progressive development of new educational materials and programs. Students and teachers work in two large experiential learning studios, each containing 25 sciplexes. At the
heart of CSMATE are fundamental goals for educational reform that
will help shape the future of science, mathematics and technology
education. A variety of teacher enhancement programs have been
developed that make a difference for teachers and students at all
levels. The CSMATE approach to education puts the methods for
developing effective learning environments squarely in the hands of
educators. Sound pedagogy, innovative techniques, low cost tools,
and effective partnerships between students and teachers step up the
quality and affordability of education and bring learning in step
with a demanding career market. National Science Foundation Recent Collaborators
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