RET Site in Manufacturing Simulation and Automation

该项目是宾夕法尼亚州立大学Behrend在制造模拟和自动化方面的RET站点的更新。该网站为来自伊利地区(覆盖宾夕法尼亚州、俄亥俄州和纽约州的县)的高中和社区大学教师提供研究培训和课程开发经验。该计划的目标是：1)通过邀请高中教师和社区大学教师参与最先进的制造业研究，在Behrend维持一个以STEM为基础的合作平台；2)促进课程模块和课堂活动的开发和传播，将STEM课程与地区和全国的制造业联系起来；3)探索一种可持续的教育模式，将高中、社区学院、大学和行业联系起来，向子孙后代灌输更多对制造业的意识和兴趣；以及4)帮助填补制造业的技能缺口，为学生的制造业生涯做好准备。每年夏天，参与者都会沉浸在跨学科研究项目和培训课程、行业之旅和课程设计研讨会中。在学年期间，RET团队继续通过课堂访问、工程会议、学生的实验室参观和其他后续活动与参与者互动，以确保项目成果的可持续性。RET网站每年将招聘12名高中教师和社区大学教师，三年内总共36名参与者。该项目将提高教师的研究和专业技能，并通过创建和提供引人入胜的课程，帮助他们将尖端制造研究转化为课堂。将通过动手活动、制造模拟和其他互动实验向学生传授知识。这反过来又会影响学生考虑在制造业深造和就业。每年将根据前后调查结果以及课程设计专家、外部评估员和行业顾问的反馈，对编写的材料和活动进行评估和修订。为了接触到更广泛的受众，该网站的经验将通过在线教育平台和全国性的RET研讨会分享给公众。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 project is a renewal of Penn State Behrend’s RET site in Manufacturing Simulation and Automation. The site provides research training and curriculum development experiences to high school and community college instructors from the Erie region (covering counties in PA, OH, and NY). The goals of the program are: 1) to maintain a STEM-based collaboration platform at Behrend by engaging high school teachers and community college instructors in state-of-the-art manufacturing research, 2) to facilitate the development and dissemination of curricular modules and classroom activities that connect STEM classes with manufacturing regionally and nationally, 3) to explore a sustainable educational model that connects high schools, community colleges, university, and industry to instill future generations with greater awareness and interest in manufacturing, and 4) to help fill the skills gap in manufacturing and prepare students for manufacturing careers. Each summer, participants are immersed in interdisciplinary research projects and training sessions, industry tours, and curriculum design workshops. During the academic year, the RET team continues to engage with participants through classroom visits, engineering conferences, lab tours for their students, and other follow-up activities to ensure the sustainability of program outcomes. The RET site will recruit 12 high school teachers and community college faculty each year, a total of 36 participants in three years. The program will improve instructors’ research and professional skills and help them translate cutting-edge manufacturing research to their classrooms by creating and delivering engaging classes. Knowledge will be conveyed to students through hands-on activities, manufacturing simulations, and other interactive experiments. This, in turn, will influence the students to consider advanced studies and careers in manufacturing. The developed materials and activities will be evaluated and revised every year based on pre/post survey results and feedback from the curriculum design expert, the external evaluator, and industry advisors. To reach out to a broader audience, the site experiences will be shared for public access via online educational platforms and nationwide RET symposiums.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.