by Alejandra Alberto
Reporter
Dr. Brittney Beck is the assistant professor of teacher education at CSU Bakersfield. She has a bachelor’s in political science, a master’s in science education, and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction, from the University of Florida.
Recently in October, Dr. Beck was awarded a five-year, $4,871,033 grant to develop a Citizen Scientist Residency Pathway. This grant was awarded to her from the U.S. Department of Education.
The Citizen Scientist Project addresses the need for highly qualified STEM-C educators. STEM-C represents Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, with an emphasis in Computer Science
Dr. Beck’s career has been “rather non-traditional” according to her. When she first entered college, she wanted to be a politician. However, after canvassing for a presidential campaign she discovered that being a politician wasn’t her thing. What she loved were the community action and education components.
According to Dr. Beck, the application for the grant is made up of a 50-page narrative. Within the application, they need to assert what they want to do, how they’re going to do it, and what they will be planning to do with the outcomes.
Dr. Beck said she worked closely with the Grants, Research, and Sponsored Programs (GRaSP) office on campus and WestEd, a non-profit organization that works with education and other communities. It was also stated that her grant application was rated in the top eight of all submissions, which granted them an additional $435,000 in funding.
Criminal Justice major, Andy Hernandez, stated that he is very impressed with what Dr. Beck was able to achieve.
“I think what Dr. Beck has been able to achieve is very impressive. I hope this grant is able to help many,” said Hernandez.
“The rationale for citizen science in Kern County is rooted in several local and national needs,” said Dr. Beck. “Kern County Schools serve a high number of students of color and students who are experiencing poverty.”
Dr. Beck also stated that there is a shortage of highly qualified STEM-C teachers.
“Adding to these local needs are the broader societal trends that have lead to the underrepresentation of women and people of color in STEM-C fields and the civic empowerment gap that exists along race and class lines. The Citizen Science Project is positioned to address each of these needs,” said Dr. Beck.
She hopes to build the capacity of current and future teachers in CSUB’s three Teacher Residency programs, Kern Urban Teacher Residency, Greenfield Teacher Residency, and Kern High Residency, to teach STEM-C in a way that is oriented towards helping students engage in civil discourse and take civic action on issues of public concern.
Dr. Beck worked with a team to complete the grant application for about a month. CSUB was awarded two prior Teacher Quality Partner grants from the U.S Department of Education in 2009 and in 2014.
Dr. Beck’s future plans are to work with the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities to expand the possibilities for the type of curriculum the campus creates, field trips to pair with the curriculum, and ways to disseminate what is learned.
