Praising public/private partnerships to promote better science and mathematics training as "a model for twenty-first century growth," Montclair State University announced plans to open a Bristol-Myers Squibb Center for Science Teaching and Learning on the school's campus in Upper Montclair. The centre aims to improve the way teachers prepare their students in mathematics and science education.
Susan A Cole, president, Montclair State University, said the new facility would house Montclair's Professional Resources in Science and Mathematics (PRISM) program. Designed as an incubator for excellence in northern New Jersey, the Montclair centre is made possible through a five-year capital grant in the amount of $500,000 from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
"A rudimentary knowledge of mathematical procedures and scientific facts will no longer suffice," said Cole. "All of our young people should have a reasonable chance to develop an advanced understanding of mathematics, science, complex problem-solving skill and technological expertise. PRISM, operating within the new Bristol-Myers Squibb Center, will teach best practices to the professionals in mathematics and science who teach our children. PRISM and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Center for Science Teaching and Learning will bring a strong collaboration of Montclair State University scientists and education professors to bear on the design and delivery of this inquiry-centered program initiative."
John L McGoldrick, executive vice president, Bristol-Myers Squibb, joined Cole for the grant announcement at the Department of Education offices in Trenton. He stated that the pharmaceutical industry has a great interest in ensuring the success of mathematics and science teachers and students.
"Bristol-Myers Squibb has a long-standing commitment to improving science and math teaching and learning. The pharmaceutical industry employs tens of thousands of people in New Jersey and elsewhere around the region, and we rely on qualified and highly skilled scientists," said McGoldrick. "Our partnership with academia and government strives to give our teachers and their students the finest resources in order to enhance our talent pool and ensure that we continue to have the best scientists in the world." He noted that the Center for Science Teaching and Learning at Montclair State, as well as a similar centre at Rider University also established with a grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb, are logical extensions of a $6 million commitment from the company, started in 1993 to help raise the quality of science education across the nation.
The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) reported in 1996 and 1999 (TIMSS-Repeat) that US eighth- and twelfth- grade students scored lower in math and science than their counterparts in other industrialized nations. The studies also reported that higher levels of achievement were demonstrated when teachers placed emphasis on experiments, practical investigations and problem-solving - all key components of an inquiry-based teaching method. Recently, the 2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that average mathematics scores demonstrated continued improvement since 1990 at both grades 4 and 8. However, there is more work to be done.
Cole and McGoldrick were joined by higher education officials who also emphasized the need to improve learning at the K-12 levels by giving current and future teachers of science and mathematics the skills to use inquiry-based teaching in their classrooms.
The inquiry method teaches science by conditioning students to ask questions, formulate hypotheses, describe and record events and then communicate their conclusions. This differs from the lecture and rote memorization routines that prevail at most universities and schools in the country.