RET SITE: Robotics Research Experiences for Middle School Teachers

这笔资金在宾夕法尼亚大学建立了一个新的教师研究经验（RET）网站。这个RET网站的主要目标是让费城学区的中学教师参与强调机器人技术的暑期研究经验。教师们将在夏季花六周的时间参与研究体验，开发课堂模块和材料，这些模块和材料将在学年期间在课堂上实施。该项目由宾夕法尼亚大学的通用机器人、自动化、传感和感知（GRASP）实验室领导。GRASP实验室不仅以机器人研究的领导者而闻名，而且还因其对K-12教育的重大推广和影响而闻名。RET Site项目涉及大学、学区、市长教育办公室和工业协会之间的合作关系。在学年期间，教师们将继续在课堂上获得相关活动的课堂支持，包括在学校建立FIRST乐高联盟俱乐部。这个RET网站项目将建立一个对机器人充满热情的教师社区，他们可以通过参与、高质量的研究性学习体验将这种兴奋传递给他们的学生。该项目以一个对教师和中学生具有吸引力和令人兴奋的研究领域为基础，并由一个在研究和教育方面都表现出专业知识的教师团队来支撑。该项目的目标是：为中学教师在机器人和自动化领域提供优质的研究体验；增加对科学和机器人的理解；提高教师运用科学和工程方法解决问题的能力；增加费城服务不足的学校培养学生成为工程和科学工作者的机会；并将教师培养成STEM领域的领导者。该网站的特色项目是教师可以访问的，并且与当前的研究和实践相关联。RET网站包括健全的评估和传播计划，将为将机器人概念整合到中学课程中提供模型。教师将发展和磨练他们的研究、沟通和演讲技巧，所有这些对他们的专业成长和成功都是必不可少的。该项目将培养教师的技术能力，使他们能够在学校开发和实施新的、令人兴奋的机器人学习活动。项目团队将通过TeachEngineering数字图书馆和GRASP的参与网站传播项目材料，这些材料将在年度研讨会和会议上与更多的教师分享。

This funding establishes a new Research Experience for Teachers (RET) Site at the University of Pennsylvania. The primary objective of this RET site is to involve middle school teachers in the School District of Philadelphia in summer research experiences that emphasize robotics. The teachers will spend six weeks in the summer participating in research experiences and developing classroom modules and materials which will be implemented in their classrooms during the academic year. The project is led by the General Robotics, Automation, Sensing, and Perception (GRASP) Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania. The GRASP Lab is known not only as a leader in robotics research but also for its significant outreach and impact on K-12 education. The RET Site project involves a partnership between the university, the school district, the Mayor's Office of Education, and industrial associates. The teachers will continue to receive classroom support for related activities in their classrooms during the academic year including establishing FIRST LEGO League clubs in the schools. This RET Site project will develop a community of teachers who are passionate about robotics and who can translate this excitement to their students through engaging, high-quality inquiry learning experiences. The project is anchored by a research area this is compelling and exciting for teachers and middle school students and by a faculty team that has demonstrated expertise in both research and education. The goals of the project are to: provide a quality research experience for middle school teachers in the field of robotics and automation; increase understanding of science and robotics; increase teachers' abilities to apply scientific and engineering methods to problems; increase the opportunities in underserved Philadelphia schools to prepare students for the engineering and scientific workforce; and develop teachers into STEM leaders. The site features projects that are teacher accessible as well as connected to current research and practice. The RET site includes sound evaluation and dissemination plans that will provide models for integrating robotics concepts into the middle school curricula. Teachers will develop and hone their research, communication, and presentation skills, all of which are essential to their professional growth and success. The project will build the technical capacity of teachers so they are capable of developing and implementing new, exciting robotics learning activities at their schools. The project team will disseminate the project materials through the TeachEngineering digital library and a GRASP's engagement web site that will be shared with a wider audience of teachers at annual workshops and conferences.