Global STEM Research Experience for Teachers

A three year grant from the National Science Foundation was awarded to fund a Research Experience for Teachers (RET) that focuses on human-centered design and appropriate technology for developing countries. This collaborative RET between the University of Dayton (UD) and Central State University (CSU) will engage G6-12 pre-service and in-service teachers in a variety of engineering research opportunities through UDs ETHOS Center. The participants will participate in orientation activities, appropriate technology related research and/or human-centered design with a faculty member and on-site work at the international community partner’s facility. In addition, participants will develop curriculum with the participant cohort under the guidance of a curriculum coach that includes continued research with a faculty member, piloting, revising, and final submission of curriculum to TeachEngineering or for sharing with other college faculty on CSU’s and UD’s websites. The human-centered design portion of this RET will educate the participants on developing appropriate technologies for their geographical area that will meet the needs of the people while allowing them to remain self-sufficient after the participants leave their immersion site. This will be achieved through teaching the three phases of human-centered design: inspiration, ideation and implementation. These new tools and experiences will empower teachers to encourage their students to pursue engineering careers. In addition, this project will have a significant impact in the Dayton region and beyond through the participation of teachers and college faculty that teach a high number of students that are underrepresented in engineering and/or come from underserved schools.https://ecommons.udayton.edu/stander_posters/2853/thumbnail.jp