RET Site: Computational Modeling and Simulation for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education

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This three-year RET project, RET Site: Computational Modeling and Simulation for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education, is hosted by the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). There is an urgent need for computational modeling and simulation (CMS) training of the future U.S. workforce. Future changes in the job skills, which require computing knowledge, will challenge current educational models. During a six-week summer program, ten teachers recruited from public and private high schools in the city of Chicago will be immersed in the cutting-edge research projects revolving around CMS for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. The interdisciplinary projects will offer opportunities to develop innovative and technologically grounded lesson plans and classroom activities in the STEM using CMS tools. This RET focuses on areas including but not limited to (1) Nanotechnology, (2) Data-driven modeling and machine-learning, (3) Drug design and delivery, and (4) Biomechanics. The teachers will also work with the UIC team to devise inquiry-based lesson plans and learning modules to be integrated into the classroom in the following academic year. Lesson plans and learning modules will be disseminated through the UIC RET and Chicago Public Schools websites, and the NSF repository. To ensure seamless integration of teachers' experience into classroom practices, follow-up activities include classroom visits by the UIC team and providing feedback.  This three-year RET project, RET Site: Computational Modeling and Simulation for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education, is hosted by the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). There is an urgent need for computational modeling and simulation (CMS) training of the future U.S. workforce. Future changes in the job skills, which require computing knowledge, will challenge current educational models. While all experimental observations need scientific explanation, in pre-college education, little attention has been paid to the advantages of computational modeling and simulation (CMS) for explaining such observations and pinpointing possible flaws in experimental measurements. This RET focuses on (1) Nanotechnology, (2) Data-driven modeling and machine-learning, (3) Drug design and delivery, and (4) Biomechanics. The CMS team in the Departments of Chemical, Civil and Materials, and Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, and Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) provides high school STEM teachers with the opportunity to learn about CMS. Partnering with minority-serving public and private high schools in Chicago, ten recruited teachers will be selected based on application materials and immersed in the cutting-edge research activities to enhance their perspectives on CMS as a tool, and to develop students’ knowledge about the STEM using this tool. The teachers will participate in a six-week summer program, and become part of a research community, including faculty mentors, an education advisor, and graduate and undergraduate students. Through professional development activities, the teachers will work with faculty mentors, an education advisor, and industry professionals to devise inquiry-based and Next Generation of Science Standards-aligned lesson plans and curricular modules to be integrated into the classroom in the following academic year. Lesson plans and learning modules will be disseminated through the UIC and Chicago Public Schools websites, annual conferences, and the NSF repository.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.