Nanotechnology Research Experience for Teachers Enhancing STEM Education
Teachers serve a vital role in improving the nation’s STEM education and inspiring the interest of students. Teachers should be seen as lifelong learners who also need opportunities to enhance their knowledge and spark their own scientific inquiries in order to share this enthusiasm with their students. The Nanotechnology Research Experience for Teachers (RET) fulfills this role by providing K-12 teachers with unique summer research opportunities over the past six years. RET teachers are matched into research groups by their reported interest and work with a research scientist, postdoctoral or graduate student, mentor for a six-week research internship in a faculty laboratory. Teachers gain valuable research experience and deepen their scientific knowledge while simultaneously forming connections between scientific principles, experimentation, and their classrooms. RET teachers are guided in these connections via workshops on classroom pedagogy that focus on translating nanoscience and engineering into inquiry-based lessons. The teachers meet weekly during their summer experience to discuss their research, share their experiences in the lab, develop ideas for their students, as well as plan the dissemination of their research, thus forming a collaborative, supportive community. Each teacher creates a poster to present their research experience on the university campus, as well as with their home campus and district or at professional conferences. In the school year following the research experiences, teachers return to the university to share both their research and lesson plans with other teachers in professional development programs. Participants are also encouraged and guided to publish their nanotechnology lessons through TeachEngineering.com. Throughout the components of the program, assessment is performed by an external evaluator to determine the impact on the 12 teachers that participate each summer as well as provide feedback for refining the program. This paper details the RET objectives, program design, evaluation results, as well as the lessons learned, accomplishments achieved, and broader impacts on the community.
Dr. Carolyn Nichol is a Faculty Fellow in Chemistry and the Director of the Rice Office of STEM Engagement (R-STEM). R-STEM provides teacher professional development to elementary and secondary teachers in science and math content and pedagogy, while also
Alice Chow is an Associate Director for Research and Grants for the Rice University Office of STEM Engagement. She conducts research in K-12 STEM education on topics such as impact of teacher professional development programs on student achievement and attitudes.
Dr. Obenland is the Assistant Director for Outreach and Research at the Rice Office of STEM Engagement. She as her PhD in Chemistry from Rice University, as well as her Masters. Her graduate work was focused on chemical education. She earned her BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3099-3528
Rice University Office of STEM Engagement
[biography]
Christina Alston, Ph.D., is an accomplished educator and researcher dedicated to promoting equitable environments in STEM education. With a Ph.D. from the University of Houston, her research focused on the racialized experiences of Black females who left K-12 science teaching. As the former Associate Director for Equitable Research, Evaluation, and Grant Development at Rice University's Office of STEM Engagement, she broadened the mission of K-12 programs to foster asset-based equitable environments for underserved populations. Dr. Alston leads NSF-funded projects and
served as the Pre-College Delegate for the Commission for Diversity Equity & Inclusion at ASEE, where she educated K-12 teachers on inclusive practices. Currently, she is the incoming Colorado Diversity Initiative Director, overseeing programs promoting diversity in STEM at CU Boulder, empowering students and researchers from all backgrounds. Dr. Alston's educational background and dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion create a critical consciousness for a sustainable and prosperous future in STEM.
Carolina Avendaño received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Texas A&M University in 2010 where her research focused on molecular nanomagnetism. In her last two years of the Ph.D. program Carolina was an NSF-GK12 fellow where she worked in underserved elementary schools to promote STEM literacy, and provided in school STEM training for both teachers and students. She began her career at Rice in 2010 as a post-doctoral research fellow and then project manager in the Colvin labs. She joined the office of STEM engagement at the beginning of 2015 as Director of Programs and Operations. In her role Carolina is responsible for overseeing the program operations and the research efforts for the RSTEM group.
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