Department Head

Patricia E. Simmons, PhD

Professor and Department Head
Mathematics, Science and Technology Education Department

Background

The modern era of science and mathematics education at NC State began in 1949 when approval was given to reinstate an earlier degree program that had lapsed. The first students transferred from existing programs in the university, the first graduating in 1951. The Masters program was approved in 1964, and by 1969, 29 students had completed their master’s degrees, 23 with a Master of Science Degree and 6 with a Master of Education. In 1966 Dean Kirkland encouraged the Department to begin planning and preparing a proposal for doctoral degrees in science and mathematics education. The Ph.D. program was approved in 1971.

Until the fall of 1997, Technology Education was a separate department, with components of vocational education included. Graphic Communications had been a program in the College of Engineering and was moved to the College of Education in 1979.  In the fall of 1995, all of these programs were merged into a new department, Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (MSTE).

From 1985-2007, the Center for Research in Mathematics and Science Education (CRMSE), directed by Dr. Sarah Berenson, was part of the department. The Center has consistently funded graduate students and enjoyed external funding to complement its state funding. With the opening of the William and Ida Friday Institute for Education Innovation in 2005, many faculty and graduate students in MSTE have had research project space at this location. Adjacent to the Centennial Campus Middle School, the Friday Institute is part of NC State’s College of Education, and many Education faculty and graduate students lead projects, serve as project staff and consultants, and have other affiliations with the Friday Institute. In 2007, CRMSE became part of the Friday Institute and is no longer an administrative structure within the MSTE department.

The three graduate programs in MSTE are run as separate units, with three graduate program coordinators and one director of graduate programs and essentially no overlap of faculty.  The structure of this report reflects, to a certain extent, that structure.  However, the reviewers found that most of the areas for improvement and the corresponding recommendations were applicable across all the programs.  Therefore, the first section focuses on graduate education in the department, followed by sections for each individual program. The sections on Science Education and Technology Education have areas for improvement and recommendations specific to that program.

Graduate Programs in the Department of

Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education

Strengths

• Excellent new faculty, which bodes well for the future of the department
• A very successful record of research funding:  since 2000, about 50 grants for $24,803,133
• A long record of solid leadership by the department head, known for, among other attributes, his exemplary mentoring of faculty in the department
• Proficient, dedicated staff providing support for graduate education and for researchers
• Very helpful pre-award support from the college research office
• The CLIPS program, for providing the opportunity for collaboration across the department
• Diversity of the research program
• The Friday Institute, a research center that is unparalleled in any other college of education, providing faculty in the department opportunities for collaboration not only with others in the university community but also with partners outside the academy

Contact Information:

For specific program contact information, please go to the desired page. For general Departmental information, call 919.515.2238.