Developing computational-thinking competencies in K-12 schools to prepare students to join the 21st Century workforce is a critical need. The Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) Site at Florida International University (FIU) focuses on cyber-enabled technologies in order to address the need for enhancing computational proficiency in the K-12 community.
The goals are to: 1. Increase K-12 teachers' knowledge of cyber-enabled technologies; 2. Expand K-12 teachers' technology competencies through research and professional development programs; 3. Support teachers' development of best practices incorporating research and cyber-enabled technology into the K-12 classroom; and 4. Build long-term collaborative partnerships between K-12 STEM teachers and the research community;
Under the coherent theme of cyber-enabled technologies, the proposed site will offer state-of-the-art research experiences for teachers in demanding new and emerging research fields in order to foster increased research-based curricula and activities implementation in the schools. Teachers from the Miami-Dade County school district, the fourth largest school district in the United States, are invited to apply. Approximately 72% of the teachers in this school district are from minority groups. The district services a majority - minority population and contains approximately 23% of the state's identified 'high poverty' schools.
The RET Site provides a total of 48 middle and high school science teachers within commuting distance of FIU professional development and research opportunities. A total of 16 teachers per year for 3 years engage in high-quality, cutting edge research working directly with research faculty for six weeks during the summer. Research projects target emerging cyber-enabled technologies including cloud computing, social networks, security and privacy. An important objective of the program is the transfer of the teachers' research experiences into the classrooms. Teachers work closely with faculty, staff, students and each other to collectively explore methodologies to effectively communicate the technologies and the research concepts and processes to students, identify and link these skills across the curricula, and design educational modules based on technology and research gains resulting from the RET experience. Other career development program activities include weekly seminars, field trips, workshops and faculty mentorship throughout academic year and beyond as the collaboration matures.
