Florida Institute of Technology
Florida Institute of Technology
150 W. University Blvd.
Melbourne, FL 32901
Phone: 321-674-8195
Website:Click here
Richard Tankersley, Ph.D. Professor of Biological Sciences Florida Institute of Technology
COSEE Role:
Prinicipal Investigator
Primary COSEE Affiliation:Florida
Other affiliations:
Background with Respect to Ocean Sciences Education:
Dr. Tankersley is currently the PI and Director of FIT’s Integrated Science Teaching Enhancement Partnership (InSTEP) program which has been supported by two awards from NSF GK-12 program. InSTEP is an expansion of an existing relationship between FIT and Brevard Public Schools and is designed to enhance and improve science instruction and increase student enthusiasm for scientific inquiry and discovery. To date, InSTEP has supported 30 Graduate Fellows and Partner Teachers and has involved over 3,500 high school students. The program has made significant contributions to the broader GK-12 program through the development of (1) two professional development programs [an interdisciplinary semester-long course (Presenting Science) and an intensive two-day workshop (Presentation Boot Camp)] to help students improve their communication skills (especially to non-scientific audiences) and (2) comprehensive evaluation protocol for evaluating and assessing changes in the presentation skills of graduate fellows.