DURHAM, N.H. -- The University of New Hampshire was awarded a $200,000 grant from 100Kin10, the national network that aims to train and retain 100,000 excellent K-12 STEM teachers by 2021. The award will support an online professional development program for pre-K to third grade math teachers in New Hampshire.

“We are so excited for this opportunity to collaborate with the UNH Leitzel Center, the state Department of Education, New Hampshire teachers of mathematics and 100Kin10 to support pre-K to third grade teachers throughout all of New Hampshire in their teaching of mathematics,” says Diane Silva Pimentel, assistant professor of education in UNH’s College of Liberal Arts. “We will work hard to establish a statewide network where teachers and organizations committed to improving mathematics education can engage in vital discussions and learning related to preparing young children to be successful in mathematics. We see this as another step in our long-term commitment to the teachers and students of New Hampshire.”

The three main components of the two-year project are online coursework and professional learning community participation focused on both pedagogy and content, on-site coaching, and a yearly summit that includes professional development and time for teachers across grade levels and school sites to collaborate. The project will be led by Pimentel along with Karen Graham and Sheree Sharpe in mathematics and Brandie Bolduc in education.

“To better prepare all students to solve the world’s most pressing problems, we need to help teachers deliver STEM content in active ways that support their students’ creative use of this knowledge,” said 100Kin10 Executive Director Talia Milgrom-Elcott.

The UNH initiative is one of 10 projects supported by 100Kin10 this year as part of their Early Childhood STEM Learning Challenge, a commitment to encourage the use of design thinking and solutions from outside fields to solve complex problems in STEM education.