Lehigh Carbon Community College recently received a three-year grant totaling $457,409 from the National Science Foundation through the Advanced Technological Education Program.

The grant project, titled “CAST: Contextualizing Algebra for STEM Technicians,” will address the mathematics barrier that impedes students’ persistence and success in science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs.

Faculty will redesign the intermediate algebra and college algebra courses to focus on real-world applications using algebraic concepts that mimic those encountered in industry.

Principal investigators Erik Csikos, assistant professor of mathematics; Eric Werley, instructor of mathematics; and Sherrie Fenner, assistant professor of mathematics, will be working on curriculum development with an advisory committee of faculty and industry professionals from various engineering, technology, computing, and science fields. The grant work will begin July 1.

LCCC’s full-time, part-time and adjunct faculty will be trained in the real-world, student-centered presentation of the course material. In the third year of the grant, workshops will be offered for faculty at other colleges and for secondary instructors teaching algebra.