I-Corps L: A Scalable Online Education Model for STEM Teacher Training

在线教育最近取得了重大进展，一些大学团队和初创企业向使用网络的学生提供交互式在线内容和评估。一个尚未开发的市场有着巨大的商业潜力，那就是基于网络为初高中学生提供分层的工程入门教育，作为大学的预备课程（以及潜在的高级学分）。然而，为了使这种方法有效，学校教师需要善于理解在线材料，并使用相同的在线资源指导和评估学生。拟议工作的目标是利用可扩展且经济可行的在线模式，重点培训高中STEM教师，促进K-12学生的高级工程教育。提议的项目代表了K-12学生工程教育的独特和可扩展的方法。它试图解决大多数在线教育方法的两个重要限制：(a)可扩展的在线教育往往消除课堂类型的互动、指导和反馈；(b)在线教育不包括在工程学科中必不可少的真正的实践经验。该项目的目标是开发一种分层的K-12工程教育方法，包括以下组成部分：纳米技术内容、可扩展的STEM教师培训和可扩展的学生实践经验。提议的项目应以各种方式在初中和高中引起重大反响，包括开设特色课程和/或选修课；可以获得大学学分的高级高中课程；并将内容纳入现有的数学和科学课程。

Online education has recently made significant advances with several university teams and start-ups delivering interactive online content and assessment to web-enabled students. One untapped market that has huge commercial potential is web based offering of tiered introductory engineering education to middle and high school students as preparatory courses (and, potentially advanced credit) for college. However, for this method to be effective, school teachers need to be adept at understanding online material and guide and assess the students using the same online resources. The goal of the proposed work is to promote advanced engineering education amongst K-12 students using scalable and economically viable online models that focus on training high school STEM teachers. The proposed project represents a unique and scalable approach to engineering education among K-12 students. It seeks to address two important limitations of most online education approaches: (a) Scalable online education tends to eliminate in-class type interaction, mentoring and feedback; and (b) Online education does not include true hands-on experience that is essential in engineering disciplines. The goal of this project is to develop a tiered approach to K-12 engineering education that involves the following components: Nanotech content, Scalable STEM teachers' training, and scalable hands-on experience for students. The proposed program should lead to significant traction with middle and high schools in a variety of ways including creation of signature courses and/or electives; advanced placement high school courses that can receive college credits; and content incorporated into existing math and science courses.