Sustainable Energy Engineering for Empowering Rural Communities

这个名为“可持续能源工程为农村社区赋权”的工程学网站是俄克拉荷马大学(OU)的一个合作项目，它建立在以前的RET网站的基础上，继续扩展到偏远农村的教师、学生和学校，但将主题重点改为可持续能源工程(参见)，其次，与东部中央大学(ECU)的数学与科学教育研究所(IMSE)合作。它建立在这样一个事实之上，即风能和太阳能产业，以及最终的生物质产业，正在通过注入物业税和土地使用费来振兴俄克拉荷马州的农村经济。这些额外的货币资源将使可持续能源工程融入STEM教育，加强农村教育。此外，这一努力将增加俄克拉荷马州的劳动力，这些劳动力需要在这些领域接受过高度培训的专业人员。通过强调这些感兴趣和需要的领域，农村社区将认识到其青年能够应用其STEM知识和技能的方式，以回馈和维持农村社区，而不是永久地离开农村地区迁移到城市地区。此外，强调可持续能源工程将为供不应求的物理和数学教师提供必要的支持，这些教师往往需要农村学生长途跋涉才能参加物理或高等数学课程。提供将科学和工程与当代主题明显影响相结合的STEM课程，以及建立从农村高中教师到大学研究人员的教育工作者网络，将促进俄克拉荷马州农村青年的职业准备途径，指导他们进入工程教育并进入工程人才库。从长远来看，从RET计划中获得的知识和成果将有助于建立可持续的教育计划，接触到农村学生和教师，从而支持可持续的农村社区。在三年的时间里，总共36名偏远农村的俄克拉荷马州初中和高中STEM教师将在每年夏天的六周时间里，与8名俄克拉何马州大学的教师一起进行SEE研究。IMSE将提供教学和计划研讨会，为RET课程的课堂实施提供全年支持，并加强学校与社区的关系。最重要的是，IMSE将促进、培育和发展教师、研究导师、可再生能源行业、地区外展计划、学校及其社区的网络，这对于在偏远农村地区成功建立K-12 STEM教育至关重要。将从ECU周围的11个县区招聘远程农村初中和高中STEM教师。该中心是促进和向这一农村地区的83个学区传播STEM教学法的区域协调中心。随着RET计划的扩大，风电场和太阳能发电场附近的农村社区将成为目标，最终将在俄克拉荷马州西北部的High Plains技术中心建立第二个农村RET推广中心。暑期研究体验将吸引教师收集解决现实世界问题的数据，并从他们的结果中开发额外的研究假设，他们将使用自己的实验设计来挑战。在今年暑假期间，将与Mentors和IMSE合作，结对来自相同或邻近农村地区的教师，以促进合作开发真正的指导性探究课程，利用STEM的基本概念，应用SEE，并解决农村感兴趣和相关的问题。学年的活动将包括每学期在IMSE为所有农村教师开放的RET讲习班，以获得专业发展学分，以及OU导师与教师和学生之间通过实地考察、课堂访问和视频会议进行的多次互动。同样，IMSE、OU导师和每一所参与的乡村学校将举办家庭STEM之夜，以突出他们所在社区的RET活动。传播活动将包括但不限于：在教育、科学和技术教育学院和农村学校举办由教师指导的RET讲习班、区域教育会议和国家科学技术协会全国会议。RET课程将发布在IMSE专门为RET活动建立的社交媒体网站上，并与国家KidWind网站链接。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 Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering Site entitled, "Sustainable Energy Engineering for Empowering Rural Communities" is a collaborative program from the University of Oklahoma (OU) that builds upon a previous RET Site and continues outreach to distant-rural teachers, students and schools, but changes its topical focus to Sustainable Energy Engineering (SEE) and secondly, partners with the Institute for Math and Science Education (IMSE) at East Central University (ECU). It builds upon the fact that the wind and solar industries, and eventually biomass, industries, are revitalizing Oklahoma rural economies through infusion of property taxes and land use fees. These additional monetary resources will allow the integration of sustainable energy engineering into STEM education, strengthening rural education. In addition, this effort will increase the Oklahoma workforce which needs highly trained professionals in these areas. By highlighting these areas of interest and need, rural communities will recognize ways in which their youth can apply their STEM knowledge and skills in order to give back and sustain the rural community rather than permanently out migrate to urban areas. Furthermore, emphasizing sustainable energy engineering will provide needed support to physics and mathematics teachers who are in low supply, often requiring rural students to travel considerable distances to participate in physics or higher mathematics courses. Providing STEM curricula that integrates science and engineering with clear impacts on contemporary topics, as well as building a network of educators ranging from rural high school teachers to university research faculty, will promote a career-preparation pathway for rural youth in Oklahoma, guiding them as they enter engineering education and move into the engineering talent pool. In the long-term, the knowledge and results gained from this RET program will help build sustainable education initiatives to reach rural students and teachers, and as a result, will support sustainable rural communities.Over three years, a total of 36 distant-rural Oklahoma middle- and high school STEM teachers, will for six weeks each summer, conduct SEE research with eight OU faculty. IMSE will provide pedagogical and program workshops, deliver year-round support with classroom implementation of RET curricula, and enhance school-community relationships. Most importantly, IMSE will facilitate, nurture and grow the network of teachers, research mentors, renewable energy industries, regional outreach programs, schools and their communities that is essential for successfully establishing K-12 STEM education in distant-rural areas. Distant-rural middle- and high school STEM teachers will be recruited from the 11-county area surrounding ECU. IMSE is the regional focal point for facilitating and disseminating STEM pedagogy to the 83 school districts in this rural region. As the RET program expands, rural communities near wind and solar farms will be targeted, with the eventual establishment of a second rural RET outreach hub at the High Plains Technology Center in NW Oklahoma. The summer research experience will engage teachers in collecting data addressing real-world questions, and from their results, develop additional research hypotheses they will challenge using their own experimental design. During this summer period, in partnership with mentors and IMSE, teachers from the same or adjacent rural districts will be paired to facilitate collaboration in the development of authentic, guided-inquiry curricula that utilizes fundamental STEM concepts, apply SEE, and address issues of rural interest and relevance. Academic year activities will include a RET workshop each semester at IMSE open to all rural teachers for professional development credit, and multiple interactions between the OU mentors and the teacher and students through field trips, classroom visits, and video conferencing. Likewise, IMSE, OU mentors, and each participating rural school will host a Family STEM Night to highlight the RET activities occurring in their community. Dissemination activities will include, but are not limited to, RET teacher-led workshops at IMSE and rural schools, regional education conferences, and the NSTA national conference. RET curricula will be posted on a social media site established specifically by IMSE for RET activities and linked with the national KidWind website.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.