Development and Optimization of Instruction Modules for High School Teachers on Materials Science and Engineering Education

Abstract- An important investment for providing high-quality education to high school students as prospective scientists and engineers is the training of their teachers. One of the objectives of our Partnership for Research and Education on Materials program has been to take a very active role in the preparation of high school teachers in the area of materials science and engineering. We accomplish this by providing the teachers with a significant research experience for five weeks during each summer. Participating teachers, assisted by researchers and undergraduate and graduate students, develop a materials science related project within the context of their background as science educators. Each teacher’s project must follow established educational standards, as requested by their corresponding high schools and school district. Organizational aspects, professional development activities, and the results of this experience are presented