north carolina science, mathematics, and technology education center

8/14/2019 North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center

1/6

PROMOTING INNOVATION IN SCIENCE,

MATHEMATICS, AND TECHNOLOGYLEARNING


2/6

The North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center (SMT Center)

promotes and supports innovation in science, mathematics, and technology learning. Founded in 2002,

the SMT Center focuses on the states elementary and secondary schools to provide all children in

North Carolina with the necessary knowledge and skills to have successful careers, be good citizens,and advance the economy of the state. These goals are increasingly dependent on a students

proficiency in science, mathematics, and technology.


3/6

The SMT Center advances its mission by:

U Serving as a catalyst for innovation and change in education

U Advocating for research-based instructional programs in schools

U Providing tools, learning methods, and technical help to educators

U Recruiting community and business leaders to promote advanced scienceand mathematics learning in North Carolina for citizens of all ages

www.ncsmt.org


4/6

CONNECT Through the Teacher Link Program,

scientists across North Carolina are working with teachers

to integrate inquiry-based science into the curriculum.

Teachers collaborate with mentor scientists and engineers

(Teacher Link Fellows) in N.C. communities to bring science

to life in the classroom. With these exciting, interactivelessons, young people develop a thirst for knowledge

and look forward to learning even more science and

mathematics.

CONVENE The SMT Center has launched a statewide

science education reform effort to support school districts

as they develop strategic plans for their science curricu-

lum. By partnering with the National Science Resources

Center, the SMT Center is offering LASER training to all

North Carolina school districts. LASER is a proven modelof technical assistance and training in which superintend-

ents, principals, and teachers develop and implement

research-based science programs. With this model,

teachers receive the tools, training, and support they need

to integrate inquiry-based science in their K-8 classes.


5/6

COLLABORATE One way to engage students and

get them excited about science is to get them involved incompetitions. Statewide science competitions allow

students the opportunity to put what theyve learned in the

classroom into practice in a challenging and rewarding

way. The SMT Center works to make schools and students

aware of the different competitions and also to connect

the competitions with scientists and engineers who serve

as judges or volunteers.

The SMT Center also supports the North CarolinaInternational Science Challenge, which sends a team of

students to Beijing, China to compete in an international

science competition. This once in a lifetime opportunity

not only gives students a chance to practice their science

skills, but also a chance to experience another culture.

CATALYZE The SMT Center advocates extensive

reform to create an inquiry-based science curriculum in

order for our students to be globally competitive. Science

should be interactive and include lab experiences, kit-based materials, experiments, science fairs, museum visits,

and science competitions. The SMT Center is working

with various policymakers, nonprofit organizations, and

school and community leaders to rethink what makes a

quality science and mathematics program.

A current area of focus is on developing an instruc-

tional tool that will allow learners to demonstrate their

knowledge and capabilities. This tool will allow studentsto go beyond simply answering multiple choice questions

and show how they can use prior knowledge and access

new information to answer challenging questions. By

answering the questions, students will not only learn but

deepen their problem solving skills.

For more information contact:

Samuel H. Houston Jr., Ed.D.

President & CEO

919.991.5111

919.991.0695 fax

www.ncsmt.org


6/6

P.O. Box 13901

Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-3901

north carolina science, mathematics, and technology education center

Documents