New center formed to study science, math education

The Center for Research and Engagement in Science and Mathematics Education, known as CRESME, will provide support for faculty, staff and students involved in science and mathematics education and research. The interdisciplinary center is being funded evenly by the two colleges and will work closely with Discovery Park's Discovery Learning Center.

To kick off the center's official opening, Provost Sally Mason will give opening remarks and Nobel physics laureate Carl Wieman will speak at 4:30 p.m. Monday (Nov. 6) in Stewart Center's Fowler Hall. The title of the talk is "Science Education in the 21st Century." A reception in the Stewart Center lobby under the mural will follow the talk. Both events are free and open to the public.

George W. Hynd, dean of the College of Education, said helping future educators learn new and better ways of teaching science and math is an essential element in preparing the next generation of citizens to function and compete in a global environment.

"This center, which brings together our best experts in both education and the sciences, will be a powerful tool to get to the root of why so many students are struggling in these subjects and to find innovative ways to make positive changes," Hynd said. "We are excited to be leading this effort at Purdue that will ultimately change the way we think about and teach these disciplines."

Jeffrey Vitter, the Frederick L. Hovde Dean of the College of Science, said he is proud that the college is helping to solve an issue that is so critical to the future of the country and the world.

"The facts are clear that math and science performance of students in our country lags behind that of other nations, and there is a corresponding declining interest in math and science careers," Vitter said. "True change requires true innovation, and we believe that with the resources of both of these colleges, we are well-positioned to study the causes and play an integral role in discovering a solution."

The center is being led by two faculty members new to the university this year.

John Staver, a professor of science education in the College of Education's Department of Curriculum and Instruction as well as a professor of chemistry, and Eric Riggs, an associate professor in geoscience education and geology in the College of Science's Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and also in curriculum and instruction, are co-directors of the new center.

Staver served as a professor in science education at Kansas State University and was director of its Center for Science Education since 1988. Riggs was previously an associate professor in geoscience education and geology at San Diego State University.

Staver and Riggs said that the idea for the center came from two areas: the well-publicized decline in math and science scores among U.S. students and Purdue President Martin C. Jischke's push to support projects that will help turn this trend around.

"As outlined in the National Academy of Sciences' 'Gathering Storm' report, there is great concern that the United States is losing its lead in this area," Riggs said. "What we want to do is to study how we can better increase student engagement with, and understanding of, science and mathematics so they can more clearly see the relevance of math and science to their own lives."

Staver, a former high school chemistry teacher, said the center will focus on preparing students to take more math and science classes, math and science education for the work force, and preparing students to be more math and science literate so they can use the knowledge in everyday life.

"In the past, those three goals have been at odds," he said. "But now, the work force is more global and the manufacturing sector is changing so that industry is now seeking workers who can multitask, think at a higher level and think out of the box."

Staver said producing these kinds of workers requires a new kind of thinking on how to teach math and science, one that is based on critical thinking and the understanding of concepts.

"The past overreliance on teaching math as the memorization and practice of its algorithms and teaching science as the rhetoric of conclusions is why students have so much trouble on standardized tests that require them to apply what they know," Staver said. "In reality, math requires deep conceptual thinking and understanding, and science is a way of knowing, not a set of facts or principles.

"Elevating students' attitudes and achievement in the two disciplines is what is driving the creation of centers like ours."

Staver said the ultimate result of addressing this issue will be a better-educated work force that will contribute more financial and intellectual capital to the problems the country faces.

As center co-directors, Riggs and Staver will focus on slightly different areas. Riggs will concentrate on helping to develop new pedagogies, technologies and assessment mechanisms for effective teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level, including the training of future secondary teachers, and Staver will specialize in coming up with new concepts to push to reform the P-12 curriculum throughout the state.

Riggs said there are just over 20 faculty involved with the center so far, but as the research grows, so will the number of those involved.

"We will eventually draw from areas all over the university: technology, engineering, agriculture, and the arts and liberal arts," he said. "Our ultimate goal is to become a nationally and internationally recognized interdisciplinary research center with the aim to make Purdue's undergraduate and graduate programs in science and mathematics the best they can be.

"We want to develop a comprehensive picture of why students aren't engaged in math and science and find a way to get them excited and engaged about the STEM disciplines of science, technology, engineering and math."

Writer: Kim Medaris, (765) 494-6998, kmedaris@purdue.edu

Sources: John Staver, (765) 496-2189, jstaver@purdue.edu

Eric Riggs, (765) 496-1974, emriggs@purdue.edu

George Hynd, (765) 494-2336, ghynd@purdue.edu

Jeffrey Vitter, (765) 494-1730, jsv@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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