Action Research Grants Available for Math and Science Teachers in Grades 6 Through 12- Individual Awards up to $4,000 The Center for Research invites El Paso area middle and high school teachers to apply for the El Paso Math and Science Partnership Action Research Grants for Teachers, sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The purpose of the grants is to fund teacher-initiated classroom research projects aimed at bolstering achievement in math and science for grades 6-12 students. Note: We are no longer accepting applicants for the 2004-2005 school year. Please check back in Fall 2005 for information about the MSP Action Research Grants for 2005-2006!

MSP Induction Program Continues for Fall 2004 This fall, there are two cohorts of new math and science teachers participating in the Induction Program. Cohort One is beginning their second year of the program, and will focus on issues of gender equity (TGEMS) in math and science classrooms this year. Cohort Two, which is beginning their first year of the program, will focus on an introduction to classroom action research. We look forward to another successful year of the MSP Induction Program!

Apply to Participate in the MSP Induction Program The Center for Research and the El Paso Math and Science Partnership invite beginning math and science secondary teachers to apply for the MSP Induction Program for the 2004-2005 school year. To be eligible to apply, you must be a math or science public school teacher in grades 6-12, with full state certification to teach math or science. You also need to be in your first three years of certified teaching. The teachers chosen to participate will receive graduate level credit that can be applied toward a Master's degree at UTEP, and stipends of $1500 per semester of participation. Note: We are no longer accepting applicants for the 2004-2005 school year. Please check back in Spring 2005 for information about the MSP Induction Program for 2005-2006!

Action Research Grant Recipients Present Their Research to MSP Site Visit Team Teacher-researchers Alex Bustillos, Leslie Gardner (on behalf of herself and Luisa Bonilla) Sue Spotts, and Yogesh Velankar discussed their classroom research projects with the Site Visit Team from NSF. After brief presentations of their research questions, methodologies, and findings, they took questions from the visitors.

National Board Certification Updates Deborah Svedman, National Board Resource Center Coordinator, will again offer a UTEP graduate course on National Board certification preparation in fall 2004. Congratulations to Bowie High School teacher Oscar Lozano, who earned his National Board Certification in November 2003!

Year One of MSP Teacher Induction Seminar Comes to an End May 1st, 2004 was the final meeting date of the year for the seminar. As part of the wrap up, MSP students completed their evaluations of the seminar, offering praise and suggesting improvements for next year. On the previous meeting date, Noyce students presented their action research to the MSP students.

MSP Induction Seminar Teacher Named Department Chair Congratulations to MSP Induction Seminar participant Leslie Gardner, who is the new Science Department Chair at El Dorado High School. Leslie, a first year teacher working on her MAT degree, will also be teaching biology and coaching basketball and softball next year.

Noyce and PETE Students Take First Place in Spring 2004 Research Expo Yogesh Velankar (Noyce Scholar), Edith Aguirre (PETE Scholar), Albert Avalos (PETE Scholar), and Damian Morales (Noyce Scholar) were awarded first place in the MIE Research Expo. The topic of their project is "The Impact of the Connected Mathematics Project (CMP) in High School Algebra Courses". UTEP professors Sally Blake and Matthew Winsor served as mentors in the research. Congratulations to these teacher-researchers!

CRER Welcomes New Staff Members Two staff members have joined CRER for the new year. They are Dr. Penelope Espinoza, Assistant Director for Research, and Antonio Romero, Accountant II.

MSP Teacher Induction Seminar Student Named Teacher of the Year Cynthia Ontiveros, a graduate student in the Induction Seminar, has been named teacher of the year on her campus, Riverside High School, in the Ysleta Independent School District. Cynthia teaches IPC and Anatomy and Physiology at Riverside, and is working on her Master's degree as an instructional specialist in science. Congratulations, Cynthia!

The Math and Science Partnership and CRER Award the 2004 Action Research Grants for Teachers The El Paso Math and Science Partnership has awarded $29,000 in grants to 17 El Paso math and science middle and high school teachers to conduct research on the teaching and learning of math and science in their classrooms. A reception was held to recognize these teachers on February 7th, 2004 in the Geology Reading Room on the University of Texas at El Paso campus. Individual teacher-researchers have been awarded grants of $3,000, while teams of teacher-researchers received $4,000. The research will be conducted over the next several months in their middle and high school classrooms. UTEP faculty members will serve as mentors to the teachers throughout the process. The immediate objective of awarding the grants is to engage these teachers as critical thinkers in their classrooms by developing their research skills and their understanding of students’ needs, which may in turn increase the likelihood that they will consider teaching as a long term career. “Through this research, the teachers will become more reflective practitioners, thus improving the craft of teaching,” said Arturo Pacheco, co-principal investigator of MSP and director of the Center for Research on Educational Reform. “We are all enthusiastic about what we will learn from their work.”

National Board Seeks Teachers Interested in National Certification The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) is actively recruiting teachers in the El Paso area to pursue National Board Certification (NBC). To provide local support here in El Paso, the National Board Resource Center at CRER is offering a UTEP graduate course in Spring 2004 to assist teachers who are interested in and are qualified to apply for NBC. The course is TED 5319, section 26152, and meets on Wednesday from 4:30 to 7:20 PM. This class can also be used as an elective in a Master’s program.

Presentation at the E-Learn World Conference on E-Learning in Cooperate Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education in Phoenix, Arizona On November 7, 2003, UTEP Partnership in Teacher Education (PETE) Coordinator Erandi Perez presented her video, "Developing Higher Order Mathematical Thinking for All Children: Davydov's Methods", featuring the research of CRER faculty Sally Blake, Mourat Tschoshanov, Arturo Pacheco, and their colleague Connie Della-Pina.

CRER Faculty Present at the 14th Education Trust National Conference On November 7, 2003, CRER faculty Arturo Pacheco, Sally Blake and Mourat Tchoshanov gave a presentation at the Washington, D.C. conference over their ongoing Calculus Conceptual Understanding Study. The purpose of the research is to find ways for underrepresented students to gain understanding of higher level mathematics concepts.

El Paso Electric Company presents its first Endowed Professorship in Education Research to Dr. Arturo Pacheco, CRER Director On October 31, 2003, a ceremony in the historic Reading Room of the UTEP Geology Building commemorated the endowment of this professorship on Dr. Pacheco by Gary Hedrick, President and CEO of El Paso Electric. Dr. Diana Natalicio, UTEP President, was also present to accept the endowment on behalf of the university.

Americas High School Field Trip On October 20, 2003, the Math Science Partnership and CRER hosted a group of Americas High School students for a field trip day at UTEP. The students, who are participants in Americas' Academy for Careers in Education Program (ACE), listened to a presentation by the UTEP Admissions Office, attended a campus tour by the UTEP Visitors' Center, and watched a Physics Circus performance, which was put on by UTEP graduate and undergraduate students.