NSF grant to support biology education for rural and tribal schools
Feb. 19—GRAND FORKS — UND has been awarded $599,997 from the National Science Foundation for a program that seeks to expose students at rural and tribal schools to molecular biology.
Under the terms of the grant, researchers at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences will run an eight-week "intensive research experience" and curriculum development course for teachers beginning in summer 2024.
Recruitment is targeted toward teachers from rural and tribal high schools in the Northern Great Plains, specifically North and South Dakota.
"They can take this back to school and they can either run camps or integrate it into an academic program," said Van Doze, an assistant professor of pathology who will run the project.
After teachers complete the summer course, they will be provided with molecular biology kits to bring to their classrooms as well as remote support from SMHS to run their own courses.
Van Doze said the idea was to focus on schools with small class sizes where one teacher may be teaching all of the schools' science classes and where access to cutting-edge science is scarce.
"It's a way to get students and teachers involved that otherwise wouldn't have that opportunity," he said, adding that there are plans to pilot a remote version of the summer course.
The program is set to recur annually through 2026, with eight teachers per summer cohort.
