ULL gets grant for math development program

The University of Louisiana-Lafayette's math education department plans to recruit teachers during the fall for a new program designed to boost students' interest in careers in the sciences.

The Advocate reports the university received a $1.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation to create a program called Louisiana Mathematics Masters in the Middle. It's designed to provide professional development to teachers in Iberia, Lafayette and Vermilion parishes.

A total of 20 teachers will be selected for the program after an application process that involves a classroom observation, said Peter Sheppard, associate professor of math education and the grant's principal investigator. Sheppard also is interim head of the College of Education's department of curriculum and instruction.