ENgaging Educators in Renewable EnerGY (ENERGY)

佐治亚南方大学（GSU）的工程和计算机科学教师研究经验（RET）网站，题为“参与可再生能源（能源）的教育工作者”，旨在通过与研究生和本科生以及教师和行业顾问一起进行的活动和项目，培养一支多样化、有竞争力和全国参与的教师队伍。重点是格鲁吉亚东南部的高需求农村地区和合作县，这些地区是少数民族、经济弱势群体和有特殊需要的学生的聚集地。目标参与者包括那些来自STEM学科中历史上代表性不足的群体的人，以及那些在贫困程度高和/或少数民族学习者比例高的学校任教的人。之所以特别选择能源作为研究主题，是因为它是学生和教师直接感兴趣的当前国家话题，并且可以很容易地嵌入高中STEM课程。此外，还有一些区域产业参与能源相关领域的前沿工程研究项目。RET参与者在能源方面的研究课题包括：可再生能源和替代能源（太阳能、风能、生物燃料、热电）、能源应用传感器和控制装置的发展、生物启发的风力涡轮机和太阳能收集器。作为其工程和科学研究项目的一部分，教师将通过与大学和行业合作伙伴的合作与现实世界的应用联系起来，并将建立参与学区与GSU工程与信息技术学院（CEIT）之间的长期合作关系。这种研究经验将使参与者能够沉浸在各种工程学科中，通过可再生能源研究扩展他们的工程知识，同时为他们提供具体的实践例子和将工程纳入STEM课程的教学方法。在三年的时间里，ENERGY RET站点将直接影响30名STEM高中教师、职前教育专业的学生、社区大学的教师和约4000名学生。ENERGY RET的目标是通过夏季学期工程和计算机科学领域的跨学科STEM研究经验，教育、吸引和激励教师将可再生能源带到课堂上。该计划的教育目标是：通过实践学习增加对跨学科概念的基本理解，介绍STEM解决问题的技能以及在讲座和实验室中应用这些技能的能力，并增加对进行STEM研究的兴趣。该计划将培养参与者在人际关系和演示水平上有效协作和沟通的能力，同时也是多元化团队的一部分。通过与能源相关的基础研究和与工业相关的转型活动，RET参与者将利用课程方法，使他们能够将这些知识转化为对学生极具启发性的STEM体验。能源项目的参与者将与教育学院的教职员工合作，开展活动和教学实践，在学年中将他们的经验转化为将能源概念整合到课堂上。

This Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering and Computer Science Site, entitled Engaging Educators in Renewable EnerGY (ENERGY) at Georgia Southern University (GSU) aims to develop a diverse, competitive, and nationally engaged teacher workforce through activities and projects performed alongside graduate and undergraduate students, as well as faculty and industry advisors. The focus is on high-need rural areas in southeastern Georgia, in partner counties, that collectively are home to high populations of underrepresented minorities, economically disadvantaged and special needs students. Target participants include those who are from historically underrepresented groups in the STEM disciplines and those who teach in schools characterized by a high level of poverty and/or a high percentage of minority learners. ENERGY was specifically chosen as the research theme because it is a current national topic of direct interest to students and teachers, and it can be easily embedded in the high school STEM curriculum. In addition, there are regional industries involved in hands-on, cutting edge engineering research projects in energy-related fields. The research topics for the RET participants in ENERGY include: renewable and alternative energy (solar, wind, biofuels, thermoelectric), development of sensors and controls for energy applications, biologically-inspired wind turbines and solar collectors. As part of their engineering and scientific research projects, the teachers will be linked with real-world applications through collaborations with university and industry partners and will build upon long-term collaborative relationships between the participating school districts and the College of Engineering and Information Technology (CEIT) at GSU. This research experience will give participants the ability to immerse themselves into various engineering disciplines, expand their knowledge of engineering through research in renewable energy while giving them concrete hands-on examples and pedagogical methods of incorporating engineering into STEM curricula. Over a three-year period the ENERGY RET Site will directly impact 30 STEM high school teachers, pre-service education majors, and community college faculty and approximately 4000 students. The goal of the ENERGY RET is to educate, engage, and inspire teachers to bring renewable energy to their classrooms through summer-term interdisciplinary STEM research experiences in the field of engineering and computer science. The educational objectives of this program are to: increase basic understanding of interdisciplinary concepts through hands-on learning, introduce STEM problem-solving skills and the ability to apply them in lectures and laboratories, and to increase interest in conducting STEM research. The program will develop the participants' ability to collaborate and communicate effectively at both the interpersonal and presentation level all while part of a diverse team. RET participants, through fundamental energy-related research and transformational activities that are tied to industry, will leverage curricular approaches that allow them to transition this knowledge into highly inspirational STEM experiences for their students. The ENERGY participants, working with College of Education faculty, will develop activities and instructional practices that model and transfer their experience for integration of energy concepts into their classrooms during the academic year.