About CIESE

Since 1988, CIESE programs and activities have reached more than 20,000 educators worldwide through grants and contracts totaling more than $22 million. CIESE has received accolades from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Science Teachers Association, and others. CIESE's projects were selected as one of only six technology demonstrations in the category "Improving Instruction to Meet High Standards," at the 2001 National Education Summit.

In 1993, CIESE received one of the nation's first grants ($2.9 million from the National Science Foundation Networking Infrastructure in Education Program ) to explore Internet use in K-12 science education. This program reached approximately 3,000 teachers from nearly 700 schools in New Jersey with professional development that utilized unique and compelling Internet-based curriculum materials and provided a platform upon which CIESE has built national and international programs.

In 1998, CIESE oversaw a $9.3 million U.S. Department of Education Technology Innovation Challenge Grant ( Alliance+ ) to help teachers better understand and implement Internet-based resources. Over 8,000 teachers in Arizona , Florida , and Ohio were trained during the five-year period in a two-tiered turnkey training program. This 30-hour graduate-level professional development program, known as Savvy Cyber Teacher ® , assists teachers in implementing quantitative, inquiry-based science and mathematics curricula. More information can be found at: www.savvycyberteacher.org.

Independent evaluations of Savvy Cyber Teacher- trained educators by Harcourt Educational Measurement show impact on student achievement and teacher instructional practice. In a sample of selected Alliance + classrooms, 86% of students showed noteworthy gains on the science and mathematics learning objectives. Teachers reported spending less time lecturing; being more comfortable with small group activities; using more cooperative learning techniques; feeling better prepared to teach for different learning styles; being better teachers of problem-solving; and feeling more competent at presenting complex materials (Yepes-Baraya, 2001).

In October 2003, CIESE became the recipient of a $1.5 million grant funded through the U.S. Department of Education's Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) program. This program will create both an online library of technology-based learning objects to promote constructivist learning in community colleges, as well as a faculty development program, the Savvy Cyber Professor. This project extends CIESE's efforts in integration of real time data into the undergraduate curriculum. Building upon the success of Savvy Cyber Teacher® , Savvy Cyber Professor will assist higher education faculty, using online and face-to-face training materials, to provide instruction for the development and use of real world data resources to improve science and mathematics achievement.

CIESE became part of the Charles V. Schaefer School of Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology in February 2004. Current K-12 efforts in curriculum and professional development have been extended to encompass higher education, especially innovation in engineering through working more closely with Stevens' faculty and researchers.

CIESE's enhanced mission is to catalyze and support excellence in teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and other core subjects through innovative, research-based instructional strategies and use of novel technologies.

CIESE collaborates with K-12 and university educators, researchers, policymakers and educational organizations to develop curriculum materials, conduct professional development programs, and research new methodologies to strengthen STEM education.

Dedicated to improving K-16 STEM education through the meaningful and effective integration of technology, CIESE fosters the use of research-based instructional methodologies and technologies to improve and pioneer novel technologies to explore and better understand their impact on improved education and society.