Center for Mathematics and Science Education, CSU, Chico

Science and Academic Literacy (SAL)

This newly funded partnership between CSU, Chico and Gridley Unified School District was recently awarded a four-year Improving Teacher Quality (ITQ) grant of $978,884 by the California Postsecondary Educaiton Commission. Dr. Bev Marcum is the Principal Investigator and Project Director for this important program.

The project will serve all 53 teahers who work at the district's two elementary schools in Gridley. They will learn science content, science inquiry strategies, and how to integrate English Language Development into science lessons. The project will use the unique "Hands On Lab" at CSU, Chico, and will train teachers how to improve student achievement in science and in English Language Arts. The grant is part of the federal ITQ program, funded through the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 to provide high quality professional development for current teachers.

The grant has a large research component that will measure teachers'attitudes and knowledge of scientific concepts, and students' writing and science achievement scores. All instruments and results will be compiled using our online survey partner, Survey Gizmo.