New, GK-12 Vibes and Waves in Action: A Cross-Disciplinary Network for GK-12 Education This project connects researchers from the Colleges of Engineering, Education and Arts & Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Lowell to high-school teachers and students in school districts of Lowell and Lawrence, MA. The project theme, Vibes and Waves in Action, is focused on the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) of sound and electromagnetic vibrations and waves and their interaction with the environment. It anchors the research topics of GK-12 fellows and provides a context for relating core high school Physics and Mathematics curriculum to the research. The project goals are to: (i) connect graduate fellows in interdisciplinary research programs through activities that elicit common learning experiences while delivering science education in urban high schools; (ii) provide leadership training that emphasize mentorship, social impacts and diversity education; (iii) engage visionary teachers to help develop synergy between targeted high school curriculum content, Massachusetts state curriculum frameworks, and the fellows? research projects; and (iv) provide high school students experience in use of high technology equipment and cyber enabled platforms. An industry mentor network will be developed as a resource to the graduate fellows and the high school community. Cyber-infrastructure will be utilized to maintain a dynamic online presence, afford virtual collaboration, and to connect University compute servers, databases and lab instruments to high school classrooms for web based experiments. The program activities will be integrated into Creating Waves: a graduate course available for training all graduate students in STEM programs. This project will enhance STEM teaching and learning in school districts with high level of underrepresented students in STEM disciplines and create sustainable programs linking local school districts, colleges and regional industry together to improve the scientific and technical literacy of Massachusetts?s workforce.
