A consortium including LEARN NC, UNC-Chapel Hill School of Education’s outreach arm, has been awarded a $43,600 grant to help create a curriculum for grades 6-8 that uses geospatial technology to integrate humanities content with science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills.
The funding from the Battelle Foundation will be used during the 2013-14 school year by a partnership including LEARN NC, the University of Virginia Library’s Scholars’ Lab and the Virginia Geographic Alliance. Ten teachers will be selected from five Virginia school districts to take part in the project.
“More than numbers and more than stories, this approach will showcase the best of both humanities and STEM worlds – and give students a solid underpinning of geospatial technology that stands as the third-fastest growing profession in the United States,” said Andy Mink, executive director of LEARN NC.
“The team of iSTEM Teacher Scholars will provide best practice models to develop geospatial curricula with a strong focus on practical application and student engagement,” Mink said.
After the curricula materials are developed, LEARN NC will host the resources online, making them freely available for teachers for use in their classrooms and in professional development opportunities.
For more information, contact Mink at mink@unc.edu.