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ORLANDO, Fla. (March 1, 2007) – 21st Century Learning Solutions, a local e-learning company, may have the answer to Florida’s growing crisis in math and science education: not enough appropriately trained fourth through eighth grade math and science teachers.
As reported on the NBC evening news on Feb. 22, “The latest Nations Report Card just released today on high school seniors that will be a big part of the next elections says the following – and these numbers are not good news – 27 percent scored below the basic level in reading, 39 percent scored below the basic level in math and that is not all, America is also loosing ground in the number of students graduating from high school, once ranked near the top, the U.S. is now 17th out of 22 industrialized nations, that puts us slightly ahead of Mexico."
You will be hearing a lot more about the math and science crisis and America loosing the competitive advantage as Congress addresses these issues in the coming months.
21st Century Learning Solutions, Inc. is developing tools to train fourth through eight grade teachers to be more effective and to get kids excited about learning math and science.
“Florida school districts need to hire approximately 2,300 mathematics teachers each year.” said Randy Gunter, Ph.D, president of 21st Century Learning Solutions, Inc. All colleges and universities combined in Florida graduate about 110 certified math educators a year, and of those only approximately 60 enter classrooms in Florida – less than three percent of the math teachers needed each year (Florida Department of Education, 2005). “These numbers are historic and have not changed over the past 10 years,” Gunter explained. “We need to make teachers more effective and maximize those that are in the classroom.”
Gunter’s solution is a prototype graduate educational program for sixth grade teachers called Mathematics and Millennials-6th, a content-specific, scalable two-course program for math teachers that is delivered online that will soon be followed by curriculum specific math and science classes for fourth through eighth grade teachers.
“Sixth grade math teachers do not necessarily need to be proficiency in trigonometry, algorithms and other complex math concepts when we are critically short of sixth grade math teachers.” Gunter said. “They need to be proficient in sixth grade concepts, and in teaching methods that are appropriate for sixth grade students,” Gunter added.
“We focus on core, practical skills teachers can use every day in the classroom, and we focus on skills that not only educate but motivate students to get excited about math and science,” Gunter said.
The initial course will be ready in April and piloted in May with sixth grade summer school teachers from Florida, Mississippi and Ohio. Additional courses for fourth and fifth grade math teachers will be ready for implementation by mid-summer.
21st Century Learning Solutions is a client of the UCF Technology Incubator.
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For more information, contact:
Randolph E. Gunter, Ph.D, President 21st Century Learning Solutions, Inc. 407-737-9460
Tracy McCoy, 21st Century Learning Solutions, Inc. 407-737-9460
Tom O’Neal or Carol Ann Dykes, UCF Technology Incubator, 407-882-0202
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142
About the UCF Technology Incubator
Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Technology Incubator has helped more than 80 emerging technology companies create over $200 million in annual revenue and more than 700 new jobs with an average salary of $59,000. The UCF Technology Incubator was named 2004 Incubator of the Year by the National Business Incubation Association. Headquartered in Research Park near the University, the Incubator is a true collaboration in economic development between UCF, Orange County, the City of Orlando, Seminole County, the Florida High Tech Corridor Council and the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission. For more information, please visit http://www.incubator.ucf.edu. |
