Press Release
March 2, 2010
Iowa Mathematics and Science Education Partnership Day at the Capitol
The Iowa Mathematics and Science Education Partnership (IMSEP) will host IMSEP Day at the Iowa State Capitol, a public event to showcase the innovative projects and organizations with which IMSEP has partnered to improve the mathematics and science performance of Iowa students, prepare more talented, diverse mathematics and science teachers for Iowa's schools and promote statewide collaboration and cooperation.
Scheduled for March 24, 2010, from 9:00am to 2:00pm, the event will be held at the first floor Rotunda of the State Capitol Building in Des Moines. Legislators and the general public are invited to visit more than 40 exhibits from throughout the state, illustrating the substantial impact that these partners have had on promoting math and science education and inspiring students to increase their math/science understanding and pursue future careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.
"By leveraging the talents of the state's best thinkers in the STEM education realm, many of whom will display their great works, we have been able to compound our impact across Iowa — more recruits to teaching, more inspired teachers, and more prepared students for the 21st century," said IMSEP Director Jeff Weld.
Representatives from the University of Northern Iowa (UNI), Iowa State University (ISU), the University of Iowa (U of I), Hawkeye Community College, North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) and Grant Wood AEA will be on hand throughout the day to talk about areas of outreach being conducted around the state regarding pre-service teacher training, current teacher professional development conferences, camps and workshops, math and science outreach to students through the classroom, afterschool programming including FIRST Lego League, Project Lead the Way (PLTW) and FIRST Tech Challenge competitions, and other hands-on opportunities to promote the thrill of learning math and science. Representatives from several IMSEP public/private partners, including Rockwell Collins, the Science Center of Iowa (SCI), the Iowa Science Academy and the Iowa Department of Education will also be on hand to provide information.
In 2008, the state launched an ambitious plan for repositioning Iowa as a leader in science and math education with the creation of IMSEP. A partnership of the state’s three public universities, IMSEP is headquartered on the University of Northern Iowa campus and charged with improving mathematics and science performance of Iowa students while preparing more high quality mathematics and science teachers for Iowa’s schools.