Three assistant professors in the Mary Frances Early College of Education received the Provost’s Affordable Courses grant to financially support students’ educational resources. Out of 13 total projects, the College had the greatest number of projects selected for funding.

Michael M. Barger, an assistant professor in the department of educational psychology, Jill Stefaniak, an assistant professor in the department of career and information studies, and Xiaoming Zhai, an assistant professor in the department of Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies Education received the 2021 Provost’s Affordable Courses grant.

6990E). The course is an introductory overview of principles of educational research methods as applied to science education topics, intended for master’s and specialist degree students in science education.

“It is challenging because we have no research methods textbook specifically in science education, especially for this level of students,” said Zhai. “Since last semester, I started customizing the learning materials from the textbooks and other materials.”

To make up for this, Zhai developed slides, reading materials, activities and quizzes for each topic the course covered. With the grant, he plans to transform the slides into interactive videos, embed activities and quizzes into the interactive videos, and include research examples from science education. “With the interactive videos, I anticipate that students would be able to complete the tasks and learn well without the textbooks,” he said.