The STEAM grant I have been implementing as a WPU Art Professor in Residence (see yellowed area below) at Eastside High School in Paterson, NJ to connect Art with the STEM subjects has been refunded for 2014-201!
WPU program help Paterson teachers integrate art with science
BY MINJAE PARK
STAFF WRITER
The Record
WAYNE — William Paterson University announced this week that it had received a $130,000 grant to continue collaborating with Paterson Public Schools to promote the connections between the arts and sciences. The integration includes creating watercolors of cells in middle school biology class or drawing butterflies in elementary school to study the concept of symmetry.
Even if schools offer arts instruction, integrating it with science and math classes is "not only exciting for the students but it has a meaningful punch," said Candace Burns, dean of the university's College of Education. "This was a way to increase the magnitude of the impact of the art on students."
The new grant, from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, based in Morristown, adds to the $200,000 the university has received from the foundation in the past two years. The previous grants have enabled the university to place three adjunct professors at city schools. Those "professors-in-residence" visit their schools twice a week for a full day to meet with teachers and help them weave arts into the math and science curriculums.
The goal is to offer professional development for teachers in hopes that they can continue the work once the professors leave, said Dina Scacchetti, the university's project coordinator for the grant.
The latest grant will also take art to the Great Falls National Historical Park.
Though the details aren't set yet, the collaboration might involve signs that highlight the historical importance of the park, Scacchetti said. Some of the students' work can be found at steamempowerment.blogspot.com.
- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/education/wpu-paterson-schools-partnership-gets-boost-1.1007635#sthash.5l8zTFRG.d86aScrj.dpuf
