Central Michigan GEMS Education Center, Central Michigan University

The Central Michigan GEMS Education Center provides professional development, math and science enrichment programs for children, and curricular support for area schools.

Department of Teacher Education and Professional Development, Central Michigan University
Established: 2005

[Central Michigan GEMS Education Center]

Profile submitted by Jim McDonald

Vision and Goals

Central Michigan GEMS Education Center is dedicated to the improvement of math, science, technology, and environmental education teaching and learning K-16, and to the associated generation and communication of knowledge about science, math, technology, and environmental education teaching and learning. The Center accomplishes its mission through the active collaboration among science educators, math educators, scientists, and school-based colleagues.

Center/Program Structure

The GEMS Center is an independent unit. Internal and external collaboration are encouraged and we work with many partners. It is run by a faculty director and two assistant directors. The center is run as service time for the director. There are 2 student assistants.

Description of Programming

Super Saturday is our widest ranging program. It is offers courses for students in preschool through Grade 5. The audience is K-5 students and is taught by CMU preservice teachers to gain more experience with children.

We offer professional development workshops on science and math topics for inservice and preservice teachers. We offer 14 workshops per year.

Successes and Impacts

We have a Super Saturday program that enrolls 140 students a year (Fall and Spring). This is a program that we have offered for three years and it continues to grow. The impact is documented through surveys from parents and enrollment numbers.

Elements Contributing to Success

Our location on campus is the main reason for our success.

Supplemental Materials


gemsannualreport2014-2 (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 173kB Oct5 15)