Arid and semi-arid regions in the southwest US are experiencing rapid population growth raising concerns regarding sustainable management of land, water and energy resources. The goal of this proposal is to bring innovative research in water and energy resources to the classroom. This will be achieved by developing and delivering a high school level course built around instructional modules in water and energy engineering as well as junior high level modules for integrated science courses. Each module represents an application of ongoing research at The University of Arizona (UA). The research modules will be drawn from the energy and water research centers including: AzRISE, Arid Lands Institute for Bioenergy, EFRI: Infrastructure Development, NSF/SRC/Semetech ERC for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing, and the IUCRC NSF Water Quality Center. These research units have significant involvement with industry, utilities, and government agencies, and these partners will be an integral part of this GK-12. The graduate fellows will come from a variety of engineering disciplines and participate in a teaching methods/communication course prior to working with the schools. The teachers will be instructed on the basic concepts and implementation of engineering modules and will gain content knowledge in engineering principles. The teachers will be drawn from regional junior high and high schools, many of which have large minority (Hispanic) populations and low income families. Together teachers and graduate students will participate in a summer program that will have a variety of pedagogical workshops that are designed to promote information transfer and learning between the two groups.
