College Board shines light
on Lastinger Center’s STEM + Arts initiative

UF Lastinger Center Director Donald Pemberton has co-written an article about the organization’s STEM initiative for a College Board publication.

“STEAM: A Master Teacher Infuses the Arts into STEM and Creates a Movement,” which Pemberton co-wrote with UF Digital Worlds Institute Director James Oliverio, appears in the College Board’s Arts: Perspectives on the Importance of the Arts in Education.

The article reflects the Lastinger Center’s commitment to improving the practice of math and science teachers in Florida. It tells the story of the late Gloria Jean Merriex, a highly innovative fifth-grade teacher at a Lastinger-partner elementary school in Gainesville.

Merriex, who died in 2008, used music and movement to teach math. Lastinger Center professors and other scholars have preserved her legacy through such means as a fun curriculum, “Gloria’s Hip Hop Math,” and a documentary, “Discovering Gloria,” directed by Boaz Dvir and funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The film is currently in post-production.

To view the article, please click here.

For more information on the STEAM learning network, please click here.