This award provides funding for a three year standard award to support a Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering and Computer Science Site program at the University of California-Berkeley, entitled, "RET in Engineering and Computer Science Site: UC Berkeley's Context-Based Research Experience for Community College Faculty", under the direction of Dr. Eli Yablonovitch and Dr. Sharnnia Artis.
This RET Site builds on the intersection of science, engineering, technology, and education and will support a total of 30 STEM faculty members (10 per year) from local California community colleges in the San Francisco Bay Area to undertake independent research at a variety of engineering-related research laboratories associated with the University of California, Berkeley, and to transform the research concepts into curriculum that is linked to technology applications with societal benefits and employment potential. Informed by RET best practices, each summer, the community college faculty members will participate in a 9-week experience. This experience will include an 8-week independent research project in an engineering group in which faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students are active, available, and involved; and a 1-week team-based curriculum development experience, in which both experiences are placed in the context of a technology application that community college students find exciting, engaging and viable for a future career. During the next academic year, immediately following the faculty's summer experience, follow-up will include webinars, implementing their course module, demonstrating their course module at the RET Site's Context-Based Curriculum Development Workshop, and publishing the curriculum online.
The RET Site programmatic effort will foster community college teachers' understanding of the process of research by engaging in authentic, in-depth, engineering-related research experiences in innovative and cutting-edge topics, such as alternative energy, cyber security and industrial internet, green and sustainability manufacturing, and wearable medical devices. As a result, teachers may in turn engage their community college students in technology-driven education activities through context-based curriculum developed during the research experience. The RET Site will also contribute to research in science and engineering education by providing data on how research experiences influence teachers and their teaching in community college classrooms.
The teacher participants will return to their home community colleges with new skills and tools to teach new scientific and engineering principles in technology contexts that students can relate to and hopefully, will aspire to participate in. Thus, the broader impact of this Context-Based RET Site lies in the potential of increasing engagement and persistence and thus, eventually the retention rate, among community college students majoring in STEM, particularly among entry-level community college students. Given the demographics of community colleges, the RET Site should also contribute to increasing the understanding of math, science and engineering concepts, skills and careers among women and underrepresented minority students. Additionally, this program, especially with its post-program Context-Based Curriculum Development Workshop, will further cultivate and sustain a vibrant network of community college teachers, faculty, postdoctoral, and graduate student researchers with the potential of long-term collaborative partnerships.
