BIORETS: Global Change Ecology at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

史密森尼环境研究中心（SERC）的教师研究经验（RET）项目将为来自马里兰州安妮阿伦德尔县公立学校和乔治王子县公立学校以及华盛顿特区哥伦比亚特区公立学校的中学教师提供亲身参与全球变化研究的机会。教师将学习各种主题，包括生态系统保护、气候变化、生物入侵和生物多样性，以了解生态系统是如何变化的。通过该计划，教师将接受一系列当前科学研究技术的培训。这将增加他们对科学过程的理解，带来有意义的学习体验，并为他们在课堂上开始实施真实的研究和数据分析提供支持。教师每年将与数百名学生接触，提供高质量的STEM（科学、技术、工程和数学）资源，并获得STEM专业人士的大型网络，以激励他们的学生。近几个世纪以来，人类通过栖息地破碎、温室气体增加、物种引入、营养负荷过剩和本地物种灭绝，极大地改变了地球。确定并最终减轻这些全球变化的后果是生态学的一个主要目标，也是史密森尼环境研究中心教师研究经验（RET）项目的主要重点。21世纪的环境问题是复杂的，需要多学科的方法。通过该项目，教师将在生态学、化学、遗传学、定量生态学等多个子领域得到培训，积累丰富的经验和科学影响。在暑期实习之后，教师们将加深对当前研究实践和技术的理解，并得到支持，开始在课堂上实施真实的研究和数据分析实践。目标学区超过一半的学生是有色人种学生，其中很大一部分学生被认为是经济上的弱势群体。来自这些人口统计数据的学生通常很少有机会获得高质量的STEM教学材料。通过让这些地区的教师参与动手研究，并让他们做好准备，更好地将真实的科学实践融入课堂，不仅教师会从增加的环境科学知识和自我效能中受益，他们的学生和学校社区也会受益。教师们每年将与数百名学生进行交流，提供高质量的STEM资源，并与庞大的STEM专业人士网络建立联系，以更好地激励和吸引他们的STEM学生。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) will provide middle school teachers from Anne Arundel County Public Schools and Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland and District of Columbia Public Schools in Washington, DC with hands-on participation in research on global change. The teachers will study a variety of topics, including ecosystem conservation, climate change, biological invasions, and biodiversity to understand how ecosystems are changing. Through the program, teachers will be trained in a range of current scientific research techniques. This will increase their understanding of the scientific process, result in meaningful learning experiences, and provide them the support to begin implementing authentic research and data analysis in their classrooms. The teachers will engage with hundreds of students each year, providing high quality STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) resources and access to a large network of STEM professionals to inspire their students.In recent centuries, humans have dramatically altered the planet through habitat fragmentation, increased greenhouse gases, species introductions, excess nutrient loading, and native species extirpation. Determining and ultimately mitigating the consequences of these global transformations is a major goal in ecology, and the primary focus of the Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. The environmental issues of the 21st century are complex and require a multi-disciplinary approach. Through the program, teachers will be trained in many subfields including ecology, chemistry, genetics, and quantitative ecology, resulting in rich experiences and scientific impacts. After their summer experiences, teachers will have increased their understanding of and comfort with current research practices and techniques and have the support to begin implementing authentic research and data analysis practices in their classrooms. More than half of the students in the target school districts are students of color, and large portions of the students are considered economically disadvantaged. Students from these demographics often have less access to high quality STEM teaching and learning materials. By engaging teachers from these districts in hands-on research and preparing them to better integrate the authentic science practices in their classrooms, not only will the teachers benefit from increased environmental science knowledge and self-efficacy, but their students and school communities will benefit as well. The teachers will engage with hundreds of students each year, providing high quality STEM resources and access to a large network of STEM professionals to better inspire and engage their STEM students.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.