Hai-Lung Dai, a professor in the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Chemistry and director of the Penn Science Teacher Institute, can offer an expert's view regarding President Bush's expected call for science and mathematics teachers in Tuesday's State of the Union Address.

The Penn Science Teacher Institute was recently cited as a model program in a report released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.  The Institute offers two challenging master's level programs that allow primary and secondary school teachers to better integrate math and science into their lesson plans.

The programs focus on content preparation of the teachers with emphasis on research-based teaching and learning practices, including the Penn Inquiry Model, a method in which teachers guide students in working together to solve problems and understand difficult concepts.  

"A society that can not produce engineers and scientists can no longer build a future of its own choosing," Dai said. "While the implementation will be challenging, the equation is simple: better-prepared math and science teachers today is the first step toward tomorrow's generation of engineers, scientists and innovators."

For more information on the Penn Science Teacher Institute, visit: www.sas.upenn.edu/PennSTI/

To access the National Academies' report "Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future," visit: www.nap.edu/catalog/11463.html