Director   Lester A. Rubenfeld, Professor of Mathematical Sciences
Program Home Page   http://www.cipce.rpi.edu/

Expressing its deep concern that precollege students are not being properly educated and are not ready to enter the technological workplace that awaits them, and sharing with the nation’s schools an obligation to develop and deliver a first-class education to students at all levels, Rensselaer established, in 1996, a Center for Initiatives in Precollege Education (CIPCE). This Center seeks to foster innovations in precollege education that build upon Rensselaer’s strengths and traditions in pedagogy, interactive learning, educational technologies, and teacher education. Its activities included developing and administering graduate programs for precollege teachers facilitating academic year workshops and summer institutes that focus on inquiry-based teaching and learning; the integration of instructional technologies in the classroom; and the development and implementation of online courses for teachers.

Major activities:

• graduate M.S. programs for mathematics, science, and technology education teachers
• staff development projects, including academic year workshops and summer institutes, on and off site for K-12 teachers
• development of K-12 interactive multimedia materials
• a partnership with the New York State Department of Education in attempting to reform the way mathematics, science, and technology are being taught to students in the state’s largest urban areas
• experimentation with the use of online and other long distance learning technologies for the professional development of teachers.

M.S. in Natural Science

The challenges presenting themselves today in the realm of mathematics and science education are vast and complex. Never in our time has education in these areas been more vital and important; never has it been more difficult to teach. Students in these times present much greater demands, and also potential, than their predecessors.

Getting young people excited about mathematics and science is a level of task that has added to the challenge of teachers. And yet, if a teacher can learn to inspire observant inquiry by infusing the curriculum with the kind of immediacy and relevance that makes it compelling to students, the job itself will be much more fulfilling for the educator as well.

Excellent teaching of mathematics and science occurs when the teacher has a broad-based, in-depth view of content, knowledge of how to integrate it with other disciplines, and the ability to use modern instructional technologies to vitalize classroom activities.

Rensselaer’s program provides teachers with an opportunity to upgrade their qualifications and examine how their curricula can make the best use of advancing technologies. Our goal is to help secondary school science and mathematics teachers enhance their skills with new techniques, tools, and a rich body of scientific and mathematics content.

M.S. in Natural Science Graduate Curriculum

Teachers spend six weeks at Rensselaer during each of three successive summers. Each summer, upon completion of three courses, students earn ten credits.