Doviak wins a SCHEV Eisenhower Grant for project designed to help math, science teachers

An Old Dominion project to help fourth- and fifth-graders learn math and science was among those selected recently to share $1.3 million in awards from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV).

Suzanne Doviak, a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and the leader of the project, received more than $59,000 for a SMARTSTARS (Science, Math And Reading Together: Students Thinking As Research Scientists) project that will use literature to help illustrate science and math concepts.

The Old Dominion project was one of 27 that were funded through SCHEV by the Eisenhower Grant Program for the 2002-03 school year. The winning projects are designed to improve the content knowledge and teaching skills of elementary and secondary public school teachers in math and science, as well as prepare their students for Virginia's revised Standards of Learning tests.

In a previous version of the grant program - which focused on space and ocean science - a book about an airplane crash on a deserted island was used to study sea predators, desert adaptations, cacti, seafloor exploration, and making compasses and water filters.

"We try to find a few areas where concepts in the SOLs are related to the books," Doviak said. "If you get kids excited about the story, then they'll want to find out more."

This year, books will focus on both weather and simple machines. Old Dominion will host two one-week SMARTSTARS workshops this summer, July 8-19, that are open to teachers in Norfolk Public Schools.

Other books in the lesson plan include "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator" by Roald Dahl, "Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell and "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

This marks the 17th year that SCHEV has administered the Eisenhower Grant Program for Virginia.

"Schoolteachers in every classroom throughout Virginia are an essential building block for success because of the vital role they play in ensuring that our children acquire the knowledge and skills they need to succeed after high school, in college, at work and throughout their lives," said Carl N. Kelly, chairman of the State Council of Higher Education.