This project is designed to offer renewable, one-year scholarships to academically talented, yet financially needy, students to major in secondary mathematics education.
The intellectual and social merit of the project lies in the historic mission of the university as a teacher preparation institution and its capacity to produce a large number of highly qualified mathematics teachers every year. The program team has strong connections with the Chicago Teacher Education Pipeline, providing them inroads into one of the largest urban and low-income communities in the nation. In addition, the Mathematics Department has several innovative programs aimed at preparing the best teachers in the nation, and students in the program graduate with a mathematics major. The Teacher-Scholar and Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs give future teachers authentic experiences with mathematics that not only change their views about mathematics, but also enhance their beliefs about teaching and learning. The Math Lifestyle Floor of the campus residence hall, bi-weekly undergraduate seminars, and support groups for recent graduates entering their first year of teaching build community, provide support, and promote success among students.
The broader impact of the project lies in the ability of the mathematics education program at the institution to recruit, mentor, and graduate highly qualified mathematics teachers who will in return excite their future students about careers in science, mathematics, and education. This project is vital because the shortage of well-qualified math teachers threatens the nation's future prosperity. This project aims to provide about 30% of the scholarships to students from underrepresented groups because this shortage is more profound in urban and low-income communities and is amplified by the lack of minorities in the teaching profession.
