MAV ROUNDUP

Stemming the Gap

Expanding STEM reach for elementary students

Bree Jimenez starts with the idea that every student deserves the opportunity to learn. Provide them that opportunity, she says, and there’s no telling what they can accomplish.

“As researchers and former teachers, we have seen over and over again what students with extensive support needs can achieve when provided a quality education,” says Dr. Jimenez, associate professor of special education in the College of Education.

Now, with a highly competitive $789,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, she’s putting her ideas into action. The grant is funding her three-year research project, which focuses on evaluating elementary teachers’ development of engineering practices and how they support students’ learning, particularly students with disabilities. The funding will also provide professional development, stipends, and curriculums for the teachers and help the research team provide strategies to promote engineering and STEM lessons to students with disabilities.

“This grant will provide the funding necessary to equip teachers with tools to implement evidence-based teaching methods and STEM curriculum into their classrooms,” Jimenez says. “My hope is that all students are provided the opportunity to become problem solvers and thinkers who question the world around them.”