Dr. Matthew Taylor receives funding to work on NSF-funded project with The College of New Jersey
Dr. Matthew Taylor, assistant professor in Salve Regina University’s Department of Education, has developed expertise in involving elementary students with disabilities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) initiatives. He will bring this expertise to a six-year project in collaboration with The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) funded by a $2.9M grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program.
“In research, elementary teachers have reported a lack of understanding in teaching STEM concepts to students with disabilities. My part in this grant is to help future teacher leaders gain knowledge and comfort working with all students in STEM.” Taylor said.
Taylor’s involvement in the project began when he was part of the TCNJ faculty, prior to joining Salve in 2022. The overall project’s primary focus is to drive innovation in environmental sustainability education for elementary school teacher leaders and their students. Taylor’s role is to ensure that teachers’ STEM focus includes students with disabilities. When he joined Salve, his piece of the project was carved out as a sub-award to enable the collaboration to continue.
For the collaborative NSF project with TCNJ, Taylor will provide expertise in inclusive practices in STEM education at the early and elementary levels. As teachers must develop inclusive classrooms to meet the needs of all learners, individualized and differentiated instruction are key concepts to master. Taylor will provide professional development, graduate-level teaching and research-based instruction to grant participants. He will also lead research focused on the inclusion of students with disabilities in the classroom with teacher leaders and future teacher leaders. Research will result in conference presentations and peer-reviewed journal submissions.
While the grant project focuses on instruction through TCNJ, Taylor will incorporate learnings into his teachings at Salve and look for opportunities to include his students in his ongoing research. “My hope is that we can extend this program and do a similar project here at Salve,” he said.
“Inclusion is an important social justice issue that is directly aligned with Salve’s mercy mission,” Taylor said. “STEM work brings out things we don’t see in other areas of the curriculum, like the opportunity to fail and learn that it’s ok. Often when students with disabilities fail, they don’t try again. We can teach skills through STEM, related to perseverance and learning, as well as many other skills, to all students.”
