RET Site: Collaborative Multidisciplinary Engineering Design Experiences for Teachers (CoMET)

The University Of Central Florida Board Of Trustees, Orlando FL

Investigators

Abstract

This Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering and Computer Science Site, entitled, Collaborative Multidisciplinary Engineering Design Experiences for Teachers (CoMET), hosted by the University of Central Florida (UCF), will provide K-12 STEM teachers with a hands-on engineering design experience covering all aspects of the Internet of Things (IoT), from the manufacturing of a sensor, to the hardware and software that allows it to connect to the internet. The traditional view of the internet is a collection of interconnected computers, tablets, and smartphones by which users can access information through browsers and other programs. However, the recent emergence of IoT radically changes this concept. Now the connected devices are not just computers but also home appliances, wearable health monitors and a very large number of small sensors that can talk to each other. This innovation is rapidly changing the landscape of our daily life. The teacher participants will gain a new insight into this cutting-edge engineering research through the application of scientific knowledge and hands-on experiments, and develop their teaching modules, which will enrich their classroom teaching. The trained teachers will be able to peak students' interest in the practical use of science in modern technologies that are truly relevant to their daily use of networked devices. This cascading educational impact will become the catalyst for seeding scientific interest in young minds through K-12 science classes and raising future scientists and engineers who can advance the IoT digital revolution further. Over a three year period, thirty K-12 STEM teachers, serving underrepresented populations in the Seminole, Orange and Brevard county public school districts, in which there are over 20,000 teachers and 310,000 students, will be recruited and participate in an eight week summer research program and a one week Train-the-Trainer workshop in the following summer. This program will create competent teacher trainers who will ensure quality pre-service and in-service teacher education, by providing multidisciplinary experiences that are relevant to the current technical development in IoT devices and systems. The Train-the-Trainer model will be implemented by which teachers will become effective mentors and facilitate knowledge acquisition and application in K-12 educational settings for other teachers. To bolster the Train-the-Trainer model the "Universal Design for Learning", a framework for the design and implementation of instructional materials will be utilized, meeting the needs of individuals by proactively circumventing curriculum barriers. The participants will rotate to four different laboratories, where they will learn about the practice of engineering in various disciplines under the guidance of faculty mentors. Teachers will develop teaching modules to deploy in the classroom in the form of lecture notes, demonstration kits and prototypes. This RET program will give teachers learning opportunities to explore the practical use of science for engineering applications, and provide a context in which students in their classroom can test their own scientific knowledge as they recognize the interplay among science, engineering and technology. The program findings will be presented at regional, national, and international conferences, and published in educational journals.