NSF Award
1609524
This Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering and Computer Science Site, entitled Engaging Educators in Renewable EnerGY (ENERGY) at Georgia Southern University (GSU) aims to develop a diverse, competitive, and nationally engaged teacher workforce through activities and projects performed alongside graduate and undergraduate students, as well as faculty and industry advisors. The focus is on high-need rural areas in southeastern Georgia, in partner counties, that collectively are home to high populations of underrepresented minorities, economically disadvantaged and special needs students. Target participants include those who are from historically underrepresented groups in the STEM disciplines and those who teach in schools characterized by a high level of poverty and/or a high percentage of minority learners. ENERGY was specifically chosen as the research theme because it is a current national topic of direct interest to students and teachers, and it can be easily embedded in the high school STEM curriculum. In addition, there are regional industries involved in hands-on, cutting edge engineering research projects in energy-related fields. The research topics for the RET participants in ENERGY include: renewable and alternative energy (solar, wind, biofuels, thermoelectric), development of sensors and controls for energy applications, biologically-inspired wind turbines and solar collectors. As part of their engineering and scientific research projects, the teachers will be linked with real-world applications through collaborations with university and industry partners and will build upon long-term collaborative relationships between the participating school districts and the College of Engineering and Information Technology (CEIT) at GSU. This research experience will give participants the ability to immerse themselves into various engineering disciplines, expand their knowledge of engineering through research in renewable energy while giving them concrete hands-on examples and pedagogical methods of incorporating engineering into STEM curricula. <br/><br/>Over a three-year period the ENERGY RET Site will directly impact 30 STEM high school teachers, pre-service education majors, and community college faculty and approximately 4000 students. The goal of the ENERGY RET is to educate, engage, and inspire teachers to bring renewable energy to their classrooms through summer-term interdisciplinary STEM research experiences in the field of engineering and computer science. The educational objectives of this program are to: increase basic understanding of interdisciplinary concepts through hands-on learning, introduce STEM problem-solving skills and the ability to apply them in lectures and laboratories, and to increase interest in conducting STEM research. The program will develop the participants' ability to collaborate and communicate effectively at both the interpersonal and presentation level all while part of a diverse team. RET participants, through fundamental energy-related research and transformational activities that are tied to industry, will leverage curricular approaches that allow them to transition this knowledge into highly inspirational STEM experiences for their students. The ENERGY participants, working with College of Education faculty, will develop activities and instructional practices that model and transfer their experience for integration of energy concepts into their classrooms during the academic year.
