Graduate opportunities in botany

[Peter Stevens]

Missouri Science Teaching and Education Partnerships (MO-STEP)

Graduate Fellowships

Department of Biology
International Center for Tropical Ecology
College of Arts and Sciences
College of Education
University of Missouri-St. Louis

The Department of Biology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis is
offering graduate fellowships through its Missouri Science Teaching
and Education Partnerships (MO-STEP) program funded by the National
Science Foundation.  MO-STEP graduate fellows will be required to
enroll in the M.S. or Ph.D. program in Ecology, Evolution and
Systematics at UM-St. Louis and participate in the MO-STEP program as
Teaching Assistants, working in five area high schools to enhance
active learning in ecology and conservation biology.  The stipend for
graduate fellows participating in the MO-STEP program will be $27,500
per calendar year.
MO-STEP Goals
The MO-STEP project involves five urban high schools located near the
University of Missouri-St. Louis addressing issues of science content
and pedagogy.  The overall goal of MO-STEP is to develop a diverse,
mutually supportive, collegial team of graduate fellows,
undergraduate students, high school faculty and higher education
faculty that will provide long-term opportunities for the exchange of
ideas and innovative, effective teaching methods.  Significant
outcomes of this goal will be graduate students that enter their
careers as better and more effective teachers, and increased academic
performance and scientific literacy of participating undergraduate
and high school students.  The goal of MO-STEP will be accomplished
by updating and enriching the biological sciences curriculum taught
in neighborhood schools, while at the same time providing an
innovative, graduate-level curriculum and mentored classroom
experience for graduate fellows.  MO-STEP will provide new
professional development opportunities for participating high school
faculty.  This enriched partnership between high school faculty and
university faculty will result in easier transitions of students from
high school to college and consequently, increased numbers of science
majors, especially among minorities, and reduced college drop out
rates for science majors.  To achieve the project's overall goals
MO-STEP will take advantage of existing partnerships between
neighboring school districts, UM-St. Louis and the region's important
scientific institutions: Missouri Botanical Garden, Saint Louis Zoo,
St. Louis Science Center, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and
Forest Park Forever to strengthen and enrich the shared learning
experiences of MO-STEP's students and educators.
Application Process
Application materials and information packet can be obtained from:
Patricia Hinton, Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St.
Louis, 8001 Natural Bridge Road, St. Louis MO 63121
(hintonpa at msx.umsl.edu; 314-516-6203).
Application forms for Graduate School admission can be accessed from:
http://www.umsl.edu/divisions/graduate/prospective/applying.htm