Contact: Sammy McDavid
During June, two Mississippi State University professors will help the state take steps to improve the level and quality of economic education in public schools.
Paul Grimes and Gary Johnson will lead four free Department of Education-sponsored workshops for kindergarten-12th grade teachers. The programs will be held in Oxford June 10; Greenwood on the 11th; Wiggins on the 12th; and Jackson on the 13th.
The registration deadline is June 1 and each school district is invited to send two representatives.
As part of the workshop, a free interactive multi-media CD-ROM will be provided for every building in the school districts of workshop participants. The $2 million "Virtual Economics" software program was produced over two years by the National Council on Economic Education with funding from the National Science Foundation.
"'Virtual Economics' contains a vast library of learning resources and specific lesson plans and activities on economic education," said Grimes. "Each disc contains more than 100 books of instructional material and curriculum guides."
The program also demonstrates how economic education can be integrated into geography, history, sociology, environmental studies, and social studies courses, said Grimes, a professor of economics in the College of Business and Industry.
"We want to emphasize that these workshops are open to all public school teachers at every level," said Johnson. Continuing education credits also can be accumulated by participants, he added.
Johnson, educational leadership professor in the College of Education, said confirmation letters indicating specific workshop times and locations will be mailed during the first week of June.
For additional information, telephone Grimes at (601) 325-1987 or Brenda Smith, social studies specialist with the state Department of Education, at (601) 359-3778.