This award provides funding for a 3 year continuing award to support a Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering and Computer Science Site program at the University of Pittsburgh entitled, "Connecting Research and Teaching Through Product Innovation: Quality of Life Technology RET Site under the direction of Dr. Jonathan L. Pearlman.
This RET Site is a renewal of a successful RET Site program hosted by the University of Pittsburgh, which will continue to draw upon the aggregate strengths in the Learning Research and Development Center (LRDC) and the Quality of Life Technology (QoLT) Engineering Research Center. This site will recruit a total of up to 39 science and math teachers, as interdiscipliary pairs from high needs urban high schools, who will complete: 1) A 12 week experience in engineering labs in across-district teams of 4 to perform fundamental scientific research and then translate that research into innovative products, involving QoLT topics. 2) A course on product innovation that includes design, development, and evaluation of technolgies in addition to the processes of bringing these products to market. 3) A redesign of design-based learning (DBL) units originally developed in the LRDC, and modified via iterative design by RET teachers over time to incorporate product development economics and other math concepts related to innovation. 4) A comprehensive professional development series providing teachers with classroom implementation and assistance of DBL units.
This site will directly impact approximately 39 teachers and 400 underrepresented students including those from high need urban high schools in the Pittsburgh region, with a particular focus on high schools comprised almost entirely of minority and low socio-economic status students, and girls. In addition, by focusing on QoLT, this site improves awareness and develops technology for a growing segment of the U.S. population that is often overlooked-people with reduced functional capabilities due to aging or disability.
