Excellence Through Education - Our mission is to provide high quality educational experiences for current and prospective professionals from baccalaureate through doctoral levels. This is our story...
The SciTEC Center in College of Education partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of North Central Louisiana this summer to provide a week of summer learning with the assistance of NASA leaders and educators. Thanks to Mrs. Julie Ricca from Stennis Space Center and Mrs. Heather Harold , SSI Director, for making this summer an amazing one! To learn more, check out the article in The Ruston Daily Leader linked below:
Teachers from West Monroe High School, Ruston High School, Ruston Junior High, Richwood, Sterlington, Dubach School, and SciTEC staff from the Louisiana Tech University College of Education spent the past Saturday and Sunday at the Louisiana University Marine Consortium (LUMCON) in Cocodrie, LA. Activities were lead by Lead Educator, Ms. Murt Conover, and included taking samples off of the coast, identifying the species caught, testing quality and salinity of water, and much more. During a marsh walk participants also had the opportunity to collect, record, and analyze data related to the periwinkle snails that inhabit the area. Participating teachers included Holly Payton, Charity Patricola, Kellyn Powell, Denise Cavin, Blair David, Danni Stuckey, Random Kennedy, and Matthew Vincent. Louisiana Tech staff included Mrs. Diane Madden and Lindsey Keith-Vincent. The visit was part of a year long experiential STEAM pedagogy course offered through the Office of Professional Education Outreach. Participating teachers, selected by their 
districts, were able to receive a substantial scholarship from Louisiana Tech
University and their respective districts for their participation in the project. Funding was also available to support the teachers in bringing students to explore Tech resources including the new fish eye projection system in the Louisiana Tech Planetarium. That funding was made available through a Board of Regents Enhancement grant awarded for the 2014-2015 year. This trip follows a visit to the LIGO observatory in Livingston, LA in the fall of 2014 with Dr. Lee Sawyer from the Louisiana Tech Department of Physics. Applications to participate in next year's program will be available May 1 through the SciTEC Office. Should you have questions about such opportunities, please contact the SciTEC staff at scitec@latech.edu. Thanks to Mr. John Price for getting us there and back safely!
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Faculty from the College of Education, College of Engineering and Sciences, and the College of Applied and Natural Sciences joined educators from the SciTEC Scholars program on January 27 at 3:30 in the IDEA Place for the first SciTEC/ Sigma XI Partners. This was the first of five partner meetings planned for the spring. Future meetings include a scholarly lecture and networking reception. Teachers and faculty discussed ways to communicate some of the ground-breaking Louisiana Tech University research to young learners in our region. Many of the University faculty scheduled tours, special presentations, school visits and events that will take place with the PK-12 students during the 2015 spring. SciTEC Scholars are outstanding educators in North Louisiana focused on enhancing STEAM education and promoting relevant content and application of that understanding. The ten teachers were selected by district leaders and engage in multiple research visits during the academic year. This year they have visited the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory in Livingston, LA; and soon they will be journeying to LUMCON in Cocodrie, LA. We are thrilled about the opportunity to partner with Sigma XI under the direction of President Jamie Newman and Vice President Marisa Orr to enhance this experience and connect our teacher leaders with our University leaders ! 
SciTEC Citizen Science in the Ruston Daily Leader continues to encourage STEAM explorations in and outside of the classroom. The second SciTEC Citizen Science contribution composed and submitted by Mrs. Diane Madden was published this week in The Ruston Daily Leader. Ms. Madden not only composed a thorough description of the behavior of water molecules, she also provided images of young people engaged in the explorations described. If you or someone you know would like to compose and submit an activity for the column, or if you would like to showcase images of you and yours conducting the recommended activities, we would love to highlight that information on our site and in the paper. Check out the link below to read her article. We look forward to hearing from more SciTEC Citizen Scientists in our region! 
