UT awarded grant to help schools

UT is helping Toledo Public School teachers get more involved in science.

The University of Toledo College of Medicine received a $750,000 grant for five years from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHIM) to aid in that quest.

"This is to give teaches a chance to actually do research with a medical scientist here on the Health Science Campus," said Robert Crissman, UT associate professor of neurosciences and principal project investigator.

Crissman wrote the grant proposal with Charlene Czerniak, professor of science education and director of the Office of Research Collaboration.

"The grant is for professional development for high school and junior school teachers," Crissman said.

"This program is to reach out to teachers and the community to teach science," said Jeff Gold, HSC provost, executive vice president for health affairs and dean of the College of Medicine. "It will create a different degree of enthusiasm around teaching science, mathematics and health-related subjects."

The grant was given last summer, and this upcoming summer, there will be a six-week program where 21 TPS teachers will pair up with professors from UT, Crissman said.

"They're paired up with a researcher here on the Health Science Campus," he said. "They do research, attend lab meetings and seminars in the area and do some of the experiments."

"They learn how the scientific method really works in real life," Crissman said.

During the last two weeks, the teachers will attend workshops in the Judith Herb College of Education, he said.

After the summer program is over, though, UT will not just "drop" the teachers.

"We will give them support," Crissman said. "We will supply money and further support in the classroom."

Teachers can also bring students back for a visit to see what their teachers did in the research periods.

Because of this, students will be exposed to different medical field careers, Crissman said.

The goal of this program and research is to see if students' grades will increase in science, Crissman said.

"We are training teachers to have better contact and knowledge to pass on to their students," he said, "as well as better exposure to the world of science to teach their students."

"We want to measure the impact and see how well that goes across," Crissman said.

This all will benefit the University of Toledo.

"We are working to help our community and our educational system in the community," he said.

Gold said that if this program is successful, UT will be recognized nationally in science technology.

"This will continue to shift knowledge-based economy in the region, which is one of our goals," Gold said. "It will provide higher levels of educational programs, which will better prepare K through 12 students."

Having the program will also help fulfill UT's mission, Gold said.

"This will help us improve the human condition, which is obviously what we're all about," he said.

This grant will benefit both the university and community, not just in what the teachers know.

"It's also increasing the resources and availability," he said. "The interaction between the university and community is certainly good for both - they both benefit."

Along with the 21 teachers, there will be 21 mentors at the university to help the teachers, Crissman said.

Administrators are still in the process of recruiting teachers for the program, Crissman said. If a teacher is interested, then he or she submits an application, which is reviewed by the grant committee.

The HHIM will only give 25 grants across the country this year in the pre-science college education program, Crissman said.

This is the first time a Howard Hughes grant was given to UT.

"It's a definite point of pride," Gold said. "Crissman was the first faculty [member] awarded this grant in the history of the university."

"I'm really looking forward to the students and the programs starting this summer," Crissman said. "I think it will certainly benefit the students, teachers and the community in general as well as the university."

"We're proud of his research," Goldman said. "It's another metric of the fact that the university begins to grow in size and in distinction."

TPS administrators could not be reached for comment.