As artificial intelligence continues to transform society, a skilled STEM workforce is becoming more critical for the growth and diversification of science, innovation, and the U.S. economy. This RET site at Oklahoma State University (OSU) will immerse high school teachers in research and curricular development activities to better engage students with AI topics like Big Data, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning. OSU will leverage an existing partnership with the Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance to recruit teachers to the site while simultaneously strengthening and creating relationships between industry, high schools, community colleges, and universities. This RET Site will also provide opportunities for high school and community college students to continue engaging in research after the RET program has run its course, further promoting opportunities to propel the next generation of technologically saavy students into computing careers.
Oklahoma State University (OSU) in partnership with Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance (TRSA) propose a RET site to conduct research and develop curriculum for Big Data and Machine Learning/Deep Learning (ML/DL) to equip teachers and engage students to achieve a computing aware and capable workforce. The program will recruit ten teachers from the Tulsa and surrounding areas to conduct research and curriculum development activities at the OSU campus in Tulsa for six weeks during the summer. The RET site will include ML/DL projects that call on large datasets in different areas. The teachers, faculty mentors along with the curriculum coordinators will develop learning experiences, activities, problems and examples suitable for use in their classrooms. The objectives of the program are: 1). Develop teachers’ knowledge of ML/DL/Big Data. 2). Develop and implement innovative curriculum by translating research experiences into classroom practices. 3). Build long-term, sustainable relationships between OSU, TRSA, Community colleges, high schools districts and industry to promote and provide support for advancing STEM education.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
