Funded Projects

Summer Research Experience

Part of the National Science Foundation’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) in West Virginia, the Summer Research Experience was created to connect pre-service, early service, and in-service teachers and scientific researchers, so that teachers may take their research experiences back to their classrooms. Learn more about Summer Research Experience

Garden-Based Learning

The College of Education and Human Services (CEHS) and North Elementary School initiated garden-based learning (GBL) in the Spring, 2011. Students germinated seedlings and transplanted them to 13 raised beds that were installed on the school grounds through the efforts of school staff, parents, a technical education center, and a Master Gardener. School teachers have attended GBL in-services and integrated GBL with reading/language arts, creative arts, mathematics, and science. GBL at North Elementary includes indoor grow labs, vermicomposting and outdoor raised beds. Learn more about Garden-Based Learning

Arts and Bots

Arts and Bots is a project that stemmed from a Carnegie Mellon University CREATE lab project. The project combines artistic building skills, engineering design skills, and simple computer programming and mechanics to build a three-dimensional art project that the students then animate using simple robotic components. View a video and learn more about the Arts & Bots Program

GigaPan Technology

Fourth grade students at North Elementary School have mastered  GigaPan technology.They are able to set up the robotics platform and take photos, employ the stitching software to construct panoramic “Gigapan” images from the photos to display at the Gigapan.com site, and initiate and participate in conversations about GigaPan images. Integration of GigaPan with the North Elementary School curriculum was made possible by the Mountaineer Create Lab grant from the Benedum Foundation. View a video and learn more about GigaPan Technology

CREATE Lab

WVU is an integral member of the expanding Carnegie Mellon University Community Robotics Education & Technology Empowerment (CREATE) Lab Satellite Network. The CMU CREATE Lab develops, refines, and produces technologies that are appropriate and accessible for children of all ages. The Satellite Network is composed of several colleges of education, school districts, lab schools and teacher professional development centers who take the developed technologies to the classroom settings surrounding their facilities. WVU has focused on expanding two programs: Arts & Bots, a combined arts and robotics program, and GigaPan Systems, a super-high-resolution photography system that we employ with the garden-based learning program at local schools.

NanoSAFE

Nanotechnology Sensing Advances in Field and Environment (NanoSAFE) at West Virginia University is West Virginia’s initiative for nanoscale science, engineering and education (NSEE). This effort also includes researchers at Marshall University and West Virginia State University, and those involved with the Research Infrastructure Improvement award 2010-2015 granted to the state: Bionanotechnology for Public Security and Environmental Safety.

NOYCE

The Noyce Foundation aims to help young people become curious, thoughtful, and engaged learners. The Noyce Foundation focuses on a few key areas: Improving the teaching of math and science in public schools, developing leadership to support student achievement, education policy and research, and finally, on expanding opportunities for students to experience hands-on science in out-of-school settings.