RET SITE: Research Experience for Teachers in Engineering (RU RET-E) for Green Energy and Technology

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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 Rutgers University entitled, "RET SITE: Research Experience for Teachers in Engineering (RU RET-E) for Green Energy and Technology", under the direction of Dr. Kimberly Cook-Chennault. RU-RET-E is a critical link in Rutgers' educational pipeline in energy engineering education from K-12, to undergraduate and further to graduate education and STEM fields. It builds upon long-term collaborative relationships between the participating school districts and the Rutgers School of Engineering. Participation of these teachers will readily translate to the learning experience of their students and subsequently their academic achievement.This proposed project will build and improve upon a previous successful NSF RET project (EEC-1009797). It will expand and enhance the previous project as a comprehensive three-year program to host a total of 46 middle and high school teachers for six weeks during the summer. Participating teachers will be recruited from New Brunswick, Plainfield, and Scotch Plains-Fanwood which collectively are home to high populations of underrepresented minorities, economically challenged and special needs students. RU RET-E seeks to provide teaching professionals the opportunity to engage in science and engineering research, with intellectual foci centered around three research thrusts: nanotechnology and materials, renewable and sustainable fuels, and devices and energy management systems for energy generation, conversion, and storage. These are areas where Rutgers has a critical mass of faculty interest, existing academic and physical infrastructure, and funding. Each teacher pair will develop Student Growth Objectives (SGO) rubrics, to be strategically, linked to engineering units, which will be peer-reviewed over the summer. These units and SGOs will be used to assess student comprehension, critiquing proficiency and the ability to execute and construct lab reports, and aptitude for engineering problem solving.