BURNSVILLE – Congressman John Kline today announced a National Science Foundation grant award to Carleton College in Northfield. The $150,000 science grant, under the direction of Susan Singer, a Laurence McKinley Gould Professor of the Natural Sciences at Carleton, will be used to assist the "Scaffolding Conceptually Driven Genomics Education" project.
"Scaffolding" in an academic setting refers to an instructional technique whereby a teacher models the desired learning strategy or task – providing support structures to get to the next level – then gradually shifts responsibility to students.
The project’s specific research objectives are to:
- Determine how undergraduate students’ scientific thinking skills are enhanced by an authentic research experience in the context of a course;
- Analyze the role of scaffolding in supporting student research success; and
- Identify generalized components for computer-based scaffolding of open-ended research.
In his third term in Congress, Congressman Kline is a member of the House Education & Labor Committee, the Ethics Committee, and the Armed Services Committee. Congressman Kline has been a recipient of the "Star of Education" award, and was recently honored by the Minnesota TRiO Association for his unwavering support of low-income, first generation, and disabled students.
Earlier this summer, Congressman Kline voted for the Higher Education Opportunity Act, which passed in the U.S. House of Representatives. This bipartisan legislation, the first comprehensive renewal of the Higher Education Act in more than a decade, ensures access, accountability, affordability, and quality in higher education.
