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University of Hawai'i |
(808) 956-8856 Telephone |
| For Immediate Release: |
October 5, 2001 |
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Vi Harada 956-5814
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| Hawaii‘i Receives $6 Million National Science Foundation Grant For K-12 Science, Math And Technology Education |
HONOLULU—A consortium led by the Department of Education (DOE) and the
University of Hawai‘i at Manoa (UHM) has received a $6 million, five-year
award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to improve science, math, and
technology education in the state’s rural public schools.
The initiative, known as the Hawai‘i Networked Learning Communities (HNLC),
is part of NSF’s Rural Systemic Initiatives program. Funds will be used
to deliver high quality teach-ing and learning opportunities to approximately
60 elementary and secondary schools in rural areas statewide. As teachers receive
training and school-university partnerships are established, at least 24,000
students will benefit through new curriculum and projects.
“We are excited about the prospects of teaming with the University of Hawai‘i
to focus resources and training to produce more students who will graduate from
our schools and pursue post-secondary interests in mathematics, science, engineering
and technology,” said Dr. Paul LeMahieu, superintendent of education. “This
initiative will both strengthen our efforts to teach students from a standards-based
approach in these subject areas and enhance teaching skills to better prepare
our students for technology jobs in the future.”
According to Evan S. Dobelle, president of the University of Hawai‘i, “This
initiative gives us the opportunity to create a seamless education from kindergarten
through graduate school. Our schools will leap beyond the educational boundaries
between the urban and rural populations of our state and between our state and
the world.”
The Department of Education will be working with the University’s Department
of Information and Computer Sciences and the School for Ocean, Earth Science
and Technology (SOEST) to establish “Networked Learning Communities”
with these schools.
As a result of this initiative, the targeted schools will enjoy the following
benefits:
• Extensive teacher training with the latest technology tools.
• Curriculum aligned with the DOE’s math and science standards.
• Establishment of an interactive, on-line center (virtual community center)
that links schools with science and math experts locally and nationally.
• Student-teacher collaboration on projects across schools.
• Effective partnerships between public schools and the University system
to increase resource support to targeted schools.
The National Science Foundation is an independent U.S. Government agency responsible
for promoting science and engineering through programs that invest over $3.3
billion per year in nearly 20,000 research and education projects.
The principal investigators for the Hawai‘i Networked Learning Communities
project are Victoria Kajioka, director, DOE Advanced Technology Research; Daniel
Suthers, assistant professor, UHM Department of Information and Computer Sciences
(ICS); and Violet Harada, associate professor, ICS, Library and Information
Science Program.
