Missouri State hopes programs for teens will encourage them to become math and science professionals, addressing a national shortage

The floor of Hammons Student Center was crowded with local junior high and high school students. Gathered around tables, intensely focused on their tasks, they worked in groups to solve complicated math problems. At the end of the allotted time, successful teams moved to the next round, cheered by their classmates. Unsuccessful teams returned to their seats to watch the rest of the action.

With classmates watching, the tension grew as the group of competitors narrowed. Finally, only one team – from Central High School in Springfield – remained.

Math Mania is one of the favorite events at the Pummill Math Relays, held on campus each spring. Math Mania is a timed problem-solving event for teams of three or four competing in an elimination-style tournament. Other competitions include individual events, traditional team events, a computer-programming event and a challenging problems event.

“I really like the ‘challenging problems’ because they’re fun and definitely, as the name implies, they’re much more challenging than the regular problems, even in the other contests here,” said Gerhardt Hinkle, a freshman from Central High School and a member of the winning Math Mania team. “I also like Math Mania for the same reason, and because we won.”

Joe Davis, ’96 & ’01, math teacher at Fair Grove High School, attended the relays as a high school student. This year he was back for the first time as a teacher. Davis said he thinks the relays encourage students to think of math as a potential career.

“The relay shows more of an application of why the students are doing the math they are doing in high school,” said Davis. “They are used to seeing other good students in their school, but it’s good to see some really advanced math students in the community. The students also get exposed to college and college life and they are more likely to want to go to college.”

United States falling behind in math, science education

The United States is trailing behind many other industrialized nations in math and science achievement and the number of students who pursue college degrees in science, technology, engineering and math. In a recent international assessment of 15-year-old students, the U.S. ranked 28th in math literacy and 24th in science literacy among 30 democratic countries participating in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.*

These trends have raised a great deal of concern among educators, legislators and businesspeople. A 2007 report by the National Academies found that low performance in math and science is hurting the United States’ global competitiveness. There is a nationwide emphasis on providing better elementary and secondary education in these areas.

The Missouri Department of Higher Education is committed to improving education and supporting development of industry in the math, engineering, technology and science (METS) fields. An increased focus on preparing, attracting, training and retaining skilled and educated citizens in these fields is critical to Missouri’s future in the competitive global marketplace.

At Missouri State, there has been a concerted effort to sponsor and host events to encourage students to pursue careers in the METS fields. Thousands of junior high and high school students annually participate in relays, fairs, competitions, summer camps and more. 

“I know that in the U.S. our education in math and science is lagging behind other industrialized countries,” said Dr. Tammy Jahnke, dean of Missouri State University’s College of Natural and Applied Sciences (CNAS). “We share with young people the excitement and the enthusiasm that we still have in science and math. Sometimes that enthusiasm is there in elementary school and maybe even still there a little bit in middle school, but it starts dying when they begin getting the peer pressure that happens as children go through adolescence. And so, we let them know that science and math can still be fun…still be exciting.”

* Located in Paris, France, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development provides a setting where governments compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and coordinate domestic and international policies.

Summer academy melds science, engineering, business 

The Missouri Innovation Academy was created three years ago to address the critical shortage in the METS fields. Sponsored by the College of Business Administration and the College of Natural and Applied Sciences, the three-week residential camp is intended to provide students with a more clear, optimistic view of their career opportunities in science, math, engineering, business and technology.

“The main purpose of the academy is to get students excited about the areas we cover,” said Director Dana Frederick. “We tour local and statewide businesses and we bring in speakers to talk about their careers, the companies they work for and how their education fits in with their job.”

Funded through a grant made possible by Congressman Roy Blunt and the Department of Education Appropriations Act of 2008, the academy allows about 30 students each year to work in teams to create a new product and develop a business plan for the product – merging the fields of science and business.

“This academy gave me direction to my future,” wrote one student. “It gave me the exposure to the beautiful world of science I needed. In the beginning I was so confused about what field I should go into, but now I know what I want to do and I have the knowledge to get there successfully.”

Inspiring girls to explore METS careers

For some students, the early experiences at Missouri State broaden their outlook for the future. The math department’s first Sonia Kovalevsky Day brought 50 high school girls and their teachers to campus for the day. Kovalevsky was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics.

Courtney Pybas, ’06, a math teacher at Walnut Grove High School, brought 11 girls to the event.

“My students thought the day was amazing,” said Pybas. “Some of the girls were not sure if they want to go to college and don’t have the family support that emphasizes the importance of a college education. They are definitely reconsidering the importance of going to college. The day was empowering to them because many of them didn’t feel like they were as intelligent as some of the girls from bigger high schools, but now they are thinking if they put their minds to it they can succeed in math or science careers.”

Another event that encourages girls to consider the METS fields is Expanding Your Horizons. The University has hosted the event for more than 10 years. It brings 150 to 200 middle school  girls to campus for a career fair and to perform hands-on science experiments all day.

“This year’s theme was sustainability to fit with the public affairs theme,” said Jahnke. “Next year, the theme will be ‘myth busters,’ so that one will be kind of fun. We involve all the women in our college as well as several from the College of Health and Human Services. We’ve got a loosely held-together group of women in science and it’s that group that organizes and plans this. Then we involve our students to help run many of the sessions. It also helps to mentor them so they can get involved directly with middle school girls.”

Making science and math fun

Many of the events sponsored by CNAS allow students to have fun with a subject that they study in school. The Regional Science Olympiad involves both middle school and high school students working as a team. They can win individual awards, but it’s the team that goes on to state – not individual winners.

“They compete in a variety of events – anything from engineering to chemistry to biology,” said Jahnke. “In one of the chemistry experiments, they’re given a number of items and a question that has to be answered with the items. But they’re not told how to do it. So they’ve got to figure out: ‘How can I make use of everything in front of me that would allow me to answer that question?’ That is a great way to get them excited and interested in science.”

The Ozarks Science and Engineering Fair brings hundreds of junior high and high school students to campus. Students prepare science experiments and then present the experiments to judges. More than 400 awards, prizes and scholarships totaling nearly $50,000 are offered each year to students. 

Future bears

Besides getting and keeping students interested in math and the sciences, the outreach events have another benefit for the University.

“We want to bring them to our college campus and realize it’s a great place to be. We want them to have a successful experience in the field they’re excited about,” said Jahnke. “We hope they can see themselves here, at this place, at some point in their future.”