This award provides funding for a three year standard award to support a Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering Site program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison entitled, "RET Site: Cross-Cultural Connections: An RET Site Program with UPRM and the UW", under the direction of Dr. Juan J. De Pablo.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) on Nanostructured Interfaces and the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez (UPRM) Center of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST) on Biomedical and Energy-Driven Systems and Applications will collaborate to offer their local K-12 teachers the opportunity to learn about cutting edge research in nanoscale science and engineering (NSE) and materials science and engineering (MSE) and to create classroom educational materials based upon that research. This RET in Engineering program at UW and UPRM will provide a total of 23 K-12 teachers over a three year period, an opportunity to participate in a six week summer research and professional development experience with additional responsibilities and activities during the academic year to build upon the summer experience. As RET Fellows, the teachers will work with UW MRSEC and UPRM CREST faculty, postdoctoral associates, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students to conduct research in NSE/MSE and to develop related curriculum. A highlight of this program will be the capstone exchange week, during which the RET teachers and project team will go to UW or UPRM for a week long exchange between the RET Fellows of their RET experiences, research, posters, and curriculum materials; their schools and cultures of K-12 education; and their host universities.
(PI: Nicholas Abbott, award ref: EEC-0908782) Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) on Nanostructured Interfaces, University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) Wisconsin - Puerto Rico Partnership for Research and Education in Materials (Wi(PR)2EM), University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez (UPRM) In 2010, the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) and the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez (UPRM) initiated a bold experiment to create a joint Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program designed to give 26 K-12 teachers from ethnically homogenous regions of the country a world-class research experience combined with a cultural literacy experience. With funding from the NSF, the UW and UPRM drew upon their research programs, as well as their extensive experience with the K-12 community, to create a cross-site RET program that has enriched teachers’ understanding of science by giving them an authentic, cross-cultural, materials science and engineering (MSE) research experience. The cross-site nature of this RET program ensured that it positively impacted a significant number of Latino teachers and students and resulted in the development of high-quality Spanish MSE curriculum. Each RET fellow worked full-time for six-weeks during the summer in the lab of a UW or UPRM faculty member on a research project within the mentor’s area of expertise. The faculty members assigned a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow as a co-mentor in order to both expand the RET fellow’s research learning community and provide mentoring experience to young researchers. Every RET participant developed MSE research-based curriculum in collaboration with his or her mentor, that was integrated into his or her classroom during the academic year following the program. Over the course of the program, RET participants have created over 40 hands-on MSE classroom curriculum modules (20 of which are in Spanish) that covered a wide-range of MSE topics such as nanomaterial synthesis and characterization, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and novel chemical synthesis. The educational materials developed in the Cross-Site RET program have impacted over 2000 K-12 students from a multitude of races, ethnicities, cultures, and socioeconomic backgrounds by introducing them to a field that is changing the world. Since teachers reported that they plan to use their activities for multiple years, the number of students impacted will continue to increase. A vital component of the cross-site program was frequent communication between the teachers at both sites including an in-person, capstone week cultural exchange. Throughout the program, RET fellows from both sites met virtually via videoconference to share their research projects and curriculum development progress. The program culminated in a capstone week experience where all of the teachers met in person at one of the program sites to share their RET experiences and to learn about the culture and educational systems in WI and PR. In years 1 and 3 of the program, capstone week was held in Puerto Rico and included tours of a high school, a mangrove forest, a rain forest and the world’s largest radio telescope. In year 2, capstone week was held in WI and included tours of a hands-on children’s museum, an arboretum, and a dairy. In response to feedback from previous RET participants, the teachers in year 2 presented hands-on demonstrations of their created activities during capstone week. This allowed teachers to test out their activities with their peers and to receive feedback from both UW and UPRM cohorts. Inspired by these presentations, the UPRM RET fellows organized a "Teachers Teaching Teachers" workshop for their colleagues in 2012 and 2013 thus further disseminating the RET curriculum modules. A mixed methods approach of surveys, journal entries, and in-person meetings were used to evaluate the program. According to the evaluation data, RET participants: felt the program motivated them to teach MSE to their students; had a better understanding of scientific research and the process of learning science; and felt they were more culturally aware in the classroom. These results indicate that the Cross-Site RET program met its goals of increasing participants’ science understanding through an authentic research experience as well as their cultural literacy through collaboration with diverse colleagues.
