The three-year $544,257 National Science Foundation (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Connecting Industry to Mathematics (CIMI) grant goals are:

• Goal 1: To effect sustainable changes in classroom instructional practice of local high school teachers and community college instructors by providing professional development on creating industry-inspired activities to teach math concepts;
• Goal 2: To develop a Contextualized Math Activities Resource (CMAR) – an online catalog of self-contained, industry-validated activities to improve student skills in mathematics, critical thinking, and communication using authentic, STEM industry-inspired scenarios – to affect the learning environment, course content, and experience of instruction for students preparing to be science and engineering technicians and for their teachers;
• Goal 3: To increase the relevance of technician education to modern practices by collaboratively incorporating STEM-based, career-aligned contextualized math activities into sustainable instructional practice in high school and community college math courses; and
• Goal 4: To expose diverse students to STEM fields, particularly focusing on high industry-demand programs at WTCC, and to train faculty to better recruit & retain diverse students.

This project produced 37 industry-inspired activities shared with high schools across North Carolina (NC), at Wake Technical Community College (WTCC), and with other community colleges throughout the country. The activities show students how math is used outside the classroom and introduces the programs at WTCC. CIMI materials were disseminated to participating high schools during their Professional Learning Team (PLT) meetings. Eight (8) high schools were represented in the YR1 Summer workshop and follow-on days, six (6) high schools were represented in the YR2 Summer workshop, and seven (7) high schools were represented in the YR3 Summer workshop. The PI, Co-PI, and WTCC participants shared the activities with WTCC math department faculty. The 10 activities developed by teachers during the Summer 1 workshop were used during the 21-22 school year at least 12 times. The 11 activities developed by teachers during the Summer 2 workshop were used during the 21-22 school year at least 37 times. The 14 activities developed by teachers during the Summer 3 workshop were used during the 22-23 school year at least 40 times.

The catalog is currently available to the public via websites for WTCC, the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC), and the South Carolina Association of Teacher Educators. In addition, all Wake County Public Schools (WCPSS) Math 4 teachers have access to the activities.

The major activities of the project include:

• Three annual Summer workshops (with follow-on days)
• Equity Professional Development
• Career Conversations Days
• Student Immersion at WTCC
• Presentations and Workshops

During two-week Summer workshops held annually, a total of 35 teachers from WCPSS and WTCC spent two days immersed in local industries learning how professionals use math in their daily careers. After this immersion, the teachers transformed material from their experience into an activity for use in their classrooms. Teachers provided feedback to their peers to complete classroom-ready activities by the end of the workshop. WTCC’s Dean of the Building, Engineering, and Skilled Technologies (BEST) Division, Financial Aid Department staff, and Admissions staff delivered presentations, and teachers shared this information with their students as part of career exploration. During the workshop and subsequent follow-on days, teachers received training in Desmos and Excel software and gained significant proficiency in these technologies for classroom uses.

Teachers participated in Equity Professional Development from the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE) in October 2020 and 2021 and from author, Cia Verschelden, and during Years 2 and 3 Summer workshops. Teachers were challenged to consider how events occurring outside of the school day may impact students’ self-esteem, self-efficacy, and ability to focus and succeed in the classroom. In Year 2, teachers received a copy of Cia Verschelden’s book, “Bandwidth Recovery”.

In November each year, a virtual Career Conversations Day impacted 400+ WCPSS students. High school students attended one of four interactive sessions with two local industry representatives and two WTCC students, allowing students to ask questions and learn about WTCC programs. Industry professionals shared their career journey and demonstrated a current project involving math.

Each spring, CIMI hosted a Student Immersion Day at WTCC for select high school students, impacting over 100 students. Students interacted virtually the first two years with leadership from the BEST Division and viewed WTCC student projects. In Year 3, students visited a WTCC campus, toured classrooms, viewed student projects, and met with BEST faculty.

CIMI project leaders disseminated project results and the activity catalog through national conferences and hosted a series of workshops for high school teachers throughout NC. Industry partnerships were developed with over 20 businesses, including the NC Department of Transportation, who agreed to partner with WTCC’s STEM Academic Research and Training undergraduate research program (START) allowing up to four students to assist with the design of a roadway project using Photogrammetry, Locations and Surveys, Roadway Design, and Hydraulics.

Last Modified: 09/14/2023
Modified by: James E Martin