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Classroom Materials Delivered to USA Robert Noyce Scholars in Mobile and Baldwin County

Posted on October 28, 2021 by Amber Day
Amber Day

  • Group picture in front of bus receiving classroom materials.
  • Woman shaking hands receiving classroom materials in front of Murphy High School.
  • Man holding classroom materials in front of BC Raines.
  • Two people standing in front of Leflore High School holding classroom materials.
  • People taking in front of USA bus discussing classroom materials.
  • Two people smiling in front of USA bus holding classroom materials.
  • People hugging receiving classroom materials.

 

USA College of Education and Professional Studies professors recently delivered materials including lab equipment, mathematics manipulatives, educational games, aquariums, chemistry modules, anatomy models, posters and more to Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program alumni at more than 20 Mobile and Baldwin county schools.  The teachers also received Thinkpads and document cameras to use in their classrooms.

“This is going to help my students understand Rube Goldberg machines and basic STEM principles,” said Maura Smolinski, a science teacher at W.P. Davidson High School who earned an Alternative Master of Education in Secondary Science Education from South in May 2017 as a Noyce Scholar. “I’m so thankful for South and the Noyce Scholars program.”

The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, funded by the National Science Foundation, responds to the critical need for K-12 teachers of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, by encouraging talented students and professionals to pursue science teaching careers. Dr. André Green, associate vice president for academic affairs and professor of science education at the University of South Alabama, was awarded the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship grant, Pathway to Science, in 2009, Pathway to Mathematics in 2011, and Pathway to Science II in 2016 in collaboration with the College of Arts and Sciences through their mathematics and science departments.

“This is a momentous occasion for these scholars and their schools and students,” said Dr. Susan Ferguson, associate professor and program coordinator of secondary education at South, who served as co-principal investigator and project director of the scholarship program. “After having to teach much of last year virtually, many became experts at delivering instruction electronically. Our program alumni will use the equipment to enhance their teaching and advance student skills.”

Over the past decade, approximately 60 scholars have graduated from the Pathway to Science and Pathway to Mathematics programs, and more than 90 percent of the graduates are still teaching science and mathematics in the local and surrounding communities.

“The graduates of Noyce Pathway to Science and Pathway to Mathematics had the opportunity to select materials and equipment for their schools as part of the professional development and teacher support portion of the NSF grants,” Ferguson said. “Project personnel delivered the supplies via a USA Jags bus to each school and teacher.”

Thirty five Noyce Scholars from the following schools received materials: Lott Middle School, Saraland High School, Saraland Middle School, Satsuma High School, Pillans Middle School, B.C. Rain High School, Fairhope High School, Daphne Middle School, Daphne High School, Central Baldwin Middle School, Elberta High School, Clark-Shaw Magnet School, Phillips Preparatory Middle School, W.P. Davidson High School, Accel Day and Evening Academy, Burns Middle School, Booker T. Washington Middle School, LeFlore High School, Murphy High School, MCPSS Virtual Academy, Baker High School, Theodore High School and Bryant High School. 

Questions about the scholarship program? Contact Ferguson at ferguson@southalabama.edu. 

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