RET Site: Research Experience for Teachers in Manufacturing of Nano-Enabled Devices

德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校的这个RET网站将招募一批中学教师，这些教师来自学生人口比例偏低的学校，从事与纳米制造相关的工程学研究活动。RET专业发展经验的重要性在于，中学教师是吸引、招聘和培养高技能未来领导者--他们的学生--追求STEM职业生涯的渠道。研究表明，在中学阶段灌输学生的兴趣至关重要。通过纳米制造研究加强他们的课程计划，教师可以为他们的学生提供真实的工程体验，为学生破译工程学，并为学生提供一个在中学水平上认同工程师的机会。研究表明，自我认同因素对初中生(男性和女性)成为工程师和留在工程专业的决定起着重要作用。基于实验室的研究经验将满足教师对相关、协作和实质性专业发展的需求，这些需求可以转移到课堂上。其目的是创建课堂，为所有学生提供实践、基于项目和相关学习体验的机会，帮助学生理解、欣赏和追求高中后和大学后的STEM职业道路。教师将被分批招聘，以便有一个临界质量来影响学校数学、科学、工程和技术文化的变化，并在课堂上创造一个创新的生态系统。教师队伍将在暑期课程结束后的学年期间会面，评估其实施进展情况，并分享经验、成功和挑战。该RET将使用NSF纳米系统ERC NEASCENT(用于移动计算和移动能源技术的纳米制造系统)的设备、空间、教职员工和研究生。在为期三年的拨款过程中，该RET站点将雇用来自德克萨斯州奥斯汀地区八所中学的30名教师参与一个研究驱动计划，重点是结构化的指导性研究和实验室经验。资深教师和研究生将在纳米制造系统和工艺方面指导教师，其中包括工具构建、材料集成、建模和模拟，以及涉及化学、机械、电气和材料科学工程领域的纳米使能设备规范和评估，为期七周。该计划还包括纳米工程和研究训练营(在研究第一周之前提供)、课程设计指导、每周研讨会和非正式活动，以在参与其中的教师、教职员工和研究生之间建立一个社区。教师和研究生将根据他们的研究和实验室经验，使用数学、科学和技术方法的应用来支持教师实施他们的教学计划。这些学生将回到他们的校园，并将他们从7周的研究经验中学到的东西付诸实施。然而，他们不会独自回到教室。对教师的广泛跟踪和支持贯穿整个学年。利用得克萨斯州中部半导体行业的地区资源和新兴的工程研究中心资源，教师将使用团队方法来激励和教育他们的学生了解该地区以及全国范围内的这个不断增长的行业。与纳米制造的真实联系将在学年期间通过新生教师、研究生、新生中心工业咨询委员会成员以及来自中心合作伙伴的半导体工程师进行，中心合作伙伴包括但不限于三星、东京电子、3M和应用材料。半导体领域迫切需要一支多样化的熟练劳动力队伍，该网站的RETS将帮助满足当地学生对这一挑战的兴趣和能力。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This RET Site at The University of Texas at Austin will engage cohorts of middle school teachers recruited from schools with high percentages of underrepresented student populations in research activities in engineering related to nanomanufacturing. The importance of the RET professional development experience focuses on the middle school teacher as the conduit to attract, recruit, and educate highly skilled future leaders -their students- to pursue STEM careers. Studies indicate it is critical to imbue student interest at the middle school level. Enhancing their lesson planning with nanomanufacturing research, teachers can provide an authentic engineering experience for their students, deciphering for students engineering and providing an opportunity for students to identify with engineers at the middle school level. Research shows that the self-identifying factor plays a significant role for middle and high school students (male and female) on their decisions to become engineers and stay in engineering professions. The lab based research experiences will meet teachers' demands for relevant, collaborative and substantive professional development that is transferable to the classroom. The intention is to create classrooms that provide all students an opportunity for hands-on, project based, and relevant learning experiences that assists students to understand, appreciate and pursue post-high school and college career STEM pathways. Teachers will be recruited in cohorts so that there is a critical mass to affect change in the school math, science, engineering, and technology culture and create an innovative ecosystem in the classrooms. Teacher cohorts will meet during the academic year after the summer programs to assess how their implementation is progressing and share experiences, successes and challenges. This RET will use the equipment, space, faculty, staff and graduate students of the NSF Nanosystems ERC NASCENT (Nanomanufacturing Systems for Mobile Computing and Mobile Energy Technologies).Over the course of the three year grant, this RET Site will engage 30 teachers from eight middle schools in the Austin, TX area in a research-driven program with a focus on structured mentored research and laboratory experiences. Senior faculty and graduate students will mentor teachers in an aspect of nanomanufacturing systems and processes, which include tool construction, materials integration, modeling and simulation, and nano-enabled device specification and evaluation that involve the fields of chemical, mechanical, electrical and materials science engineering for seven weeks during the summer. The program also includes a nanoengineering and research bootcamp (offered prior to the first week of research), instruction in curriculum design, weekly seminars and informal events to create a community among the teachers, faculty and graduate students involved. Faculty and graduate students will support teachers' implementation of their lesson plans using applications of math, science, and technology methodologies from their research and laboratory experiences. The RETs will return to their campuses and implement their lessons developed from their 7-week research experience. They will not return to their classrooms alone, however. Extensive follow up and support for teachers extends throughout the school year. Using the Central Texas regional resources in the semi-conductor industry and NASCENT Engineering Research Center resources, teachers will use a team approach to excite and educate their students about this growing industry in the region, as well as across the country. The real-world connection to nanomanufacturing will be brought to the teachers' classrooms during the school year using NASCENT faculty, graduate students, members of the NASCENT Center Industrial Advisory Board, and semi-conductor engineers from Center partners including but not limited to SAMSUNG, Tokyo Electron, 3M, and Applied Materials. There is a critical need for a diverse and skilled workforce in the semi-conductor area and RETs in this site will help fill that need at a local level with students interested and able to take on that challenge.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.