Robert Mayes - US grants

The University of Northern Colorado, Colorado State University, Weld County School District 6, and the Poudre RI school district propose a collaborative to support fellows in SMET disciplines and discipline-based education. Our teaching and research themes focus on Human impacts on land use and ecosystem structure andfunction along the Front Range of Nortitern Colorado.
Objectives and Activities:
Form Teaching-Research Teams - of teachers, fellows, and researchers that will interact throughout the year, for up to 3 years.
Conduct Teaching and Research Strategy Workshops - to familiarize teachers, researchers and fellows ,%ith each others culture.
Conduct Grant Writing Workshops - for the teachers and fellows for professional development and sustainability.
Develop Schoolyard Research Plots - based on the research experience. Teachers and fellows will establish schoolyard plots.
Apply,4ge-,4ppropriate, Standards-Based Modules - will be developed to link the research to the classroom.
Benefits include:
Fellows: I)GuidefellowstoincludeK-12outreachasacareergoal,2)lmprovedcommunication- teaching-related skills, 3) Financial stability, and 4) bnprove grantsmanship.
K-12 Teachers: 1) Connect with the research community, 2) Professional development (travel, credit, stipends), 3) Improve classroom resources (supplies, equipment technology), 4) Schoolyard sites, and 5) Provide additional classroom help via the fellows.

Submitted under the guidelines for Centers for Learning and Teaching, the Appalachian Collaborative Center for Learning, Assessment and Instruction in Mathematics (ACCLAIM) is a five-year project designed to build a mathematics infrastructure in the Appalachian regions of Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia. ACCLAIM is a collaborative partnership among the University of Kentucky (UK), Ohio University (OU), the University of Tennessee (UT), and Marshall (MU) with the Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative (ARSI). The mathematics infrastructure in Appalachia will be enhanced through:
(a) advanced degree programs in mathematics and mathematics education,
(b) job-embedded teacher preparation and professional development programs, and
(c) education research in a rural context.

The two goals are to:
(a) build mathematics capacity and expertise in the Appalachian regions of Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia through advanced degree programs in mathematics education and through research that connects mathematics and rural education; and
(b) improve the quality of mathematics teaching at the middle and high school levels in the Appalachian region through the development of collaborative networks and innovative delivery systems.

To meet these goals, ACCLAIM will create and implement four interconnected initiatives:

1. Capacity Building: Doctoral cohorts of 20 students every two years, masters/specialists cohorts of 30 students every year.
2. Professional Development: Professional Development Teams in middle and high schools.
3. Teacher Education: Appalachian Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators -- (AAMTE) fall and spring conferences and a listserv, needs assessment of teacher education programs, and undergraduate courses online and telelink.
4. Research: Research agenda focused on mathematics education in rural contexts: a) stimulate research, b) oversee and coordinate data collection and analysis, c) publish or disseminate best practices, d) serve as a clearinghouse for research findings, publish a newsletter -- "The Rural Mathematics Educator."

Abstract 0832026

A Mathematics Teacher Leadership Center (Math TLC) is proposed by the University of Northern Colorado and its Core Partners, the University of Wyoming, Greeley School District #6 (CO), Morgan County School District (CO), Poudre County School District (CO), Laramie County School District 1 (WY), and Carbon County School District 1 (WY).
Math TLC is an integrated partnership to improve mathematics in middle, secondary and post secondary education in the north Rocky Mountains region. Key to this Teacher Institute project is working with teachers and districts to retain new and continuing teachers in the field and develop leadership capacity. The Partners will develop and implement a Master's degree in Secondary Mathematics, and a Teacher Leadership Program in mathematics for teachers, grades 4-12. Research is to be carried out on the impact of both these programs on student achievement.
The Master's program (32 credit hours) will support 4 cohorts of 15-18 teachers per year and the Teacher Leadership program (24 credit hours) will support 3 cohorts of 10-12 teachers per year, over the five year project. The courses will be a combination of face- to-face and on-line delivery. More than 95,000 students from grades 4 through 12 are potentially impacted over the life of the project: 23,700 directly by teacher enrolled in the master's program and 71, 000 students of teachers who will work with Teacher Leaders. An intensive recruitment program is planned to attract teachers from Native American school districts in Colorado (Southern Ute Indian Reservation and Ute Mountain Indian Reservation) and Wyoming (the Wind River Reservation).
The research program will study the impact of professional development (PD) on teachers' mathematical understanding, pedagogical content knowledge and cultural competencies for teaching diverse students in Colorado and Wyoming. The study will track teacher change and its effect on student achievement, grades 6-12, and will advance knowledge of teacher leadership development through a quantitative design experiment of the leadership model proposed by the project.
The transformative concept in Math TLC is the development of the online master's degree shared jointly by the Universities of Northern Colorado and Wyoming in combination with a leadership program. Success will require substantive institutional affiliation and will transform PD for isolated rural teachers by providing significant mathematics content integrated with culturally informed pedagogical methods, by creating master teachers and teacher-leaders that have the expertise to intellectually engage underserved groups.
The comprehensive dissemination plan includes a web portal for the online distribution of research and implementation outcomes, publications of findings in peer reviewed journals and presentations at regional and national meetings. The Partnership will actively work in the future to broaden the collaborative to include additional school and university partners.
The benefits to society are improved mathematics teaching and learning in socio-economically, culturally, and ethnically diverse classrooms.

Abstract

Energy and water are major constraints to global prosperity and directly pertinent to global climate change. Their interface is of particular relevance to Wyoming as the leading US state in the exportation of energy but having major water limitations. As a model for illustrating principles of complexity and uncertainty in science, the energy-water interface presents a relevant framework to enhance STEM learning outcomes. In addition, like many rural, frontier states, Wyoming faces distinct challenges with respect to STEM awareness, education, and career opportunities. And a significant proportion of the state population can be categorized as at-risk relative to socio-economic status and educational achievement. These challenges will be addressed through a partnership between schools, the University, and the private sector using a diverse portfolio of activities designed to increase learning outcomes of doctoral fellows, 7-10 grade students and teachers, to inform career choice through motivating STEM experiences, and to institutionalize GK12 goals in the graduate education infrastructure of UW. Specific deliverables from this project include: inquiry based curricular units, summer research experiences, diverse workshops, multiple training events, sustained cyberinfrastructure interactions, and global research opportunities. This program will promote the competitive success of the future STEM workforce by providing training in leadership, communication and project management skills for graduate fellows, by enhancing the educational pipeline through motivational awareness units, through sustained professional development of teachers, and by development of new interdisciplinary graduate programs focused on GK12 objectives.

Intellectual Merit
Bacteria are usually considered to be simple life forms, but some species are known to possess compartments within their cells. While some compartments serve to separate physiological processes from the rest of the cell, the function of others is undetermined. The significance of membrane-bound compartments containing genomic DNA (superficially resembling eukaryotic nuclei) is particularly elusive. Planctomycete bacteria have an unusual cell plan, with the genomic DNA and ribosomes restricted to one of two cellular compartments. Even greater complexity is found in the planctomycete Gemmata obscuriglobus, which possesses an additional network of double-layered membranes surrounding the genomic DNA. The goal of this project is to determine whether the additional G. obscuriglobus membrane network is functionally equivalent to the eukaryotic nuclear membrane. The main research focus is the potential uncoupling of transcription and translation (a hallmark of eukaryotic cell biology, but not known to occur in Bacteria), and identification of membrane transport mechanisms. The experimental approach involves localization and characterization of proteins in the different cell compartments, using electron and fluorescence microscopy, as well as physical separation of the compartments. The project provides a unique opportunity to explore an apparent exception to the rule of coupled bacterial transcription and translation, and determine whether this complex microbial cell organization can be used to support models of eukaryotic cell evolution.

Broader Impacts
The project will promote teaching, training, and learning through classroom instruction, research training (one postdoctoral fellow, one graduate student, two undergraduate researchers), and an initiative for high school teachers. Teachers will participate in research apprenticeships and workshops, leading to the implementation of new curriculum in their classrooms. The project will therefore contribute to future science and technology capabilities in the United States.