RET Site: High School Teacher Experience in Engineering Design and Manufacturing

University Of Houston, Houston TX

Investigators

Abstract

The goal of the RET site in the College of Technology at University of Houston (UH), a Hispanic Serving Institution, is to provide opportunities for high school STEM teachers to engage in innovative engineering design and manufacturing research, as well as develop advanced high school STEM curriculum modules. The 83rd Texas Legislature established the new Foundation High School Program, House Bill 5, as the default high school graduation program for all students entering high school beginning in 2014-2015. House Bill 5 requires enhanced STEM contents in high school curriculum as part of the graduate requirement. However, many high school teachers have not received sufficient training to prepare the new STEM modules. Texas Region IV covers the Houston Metropolitan area. It serves 48 school districts with 1.2 million students (23% of all Texas students) and 97,000 teachers. The RET site will be a timely opportunity to recruit high school teachers to gain experience in design and manufacturing and develop course modules. The RET site will form a strong partnership between UH, Education Service Center for Region IV (ESC4), school districts, and local industries on advanced high school engineering education. The RET site program consists of professional development activities in a six weeks summer program on campus and extensive follow-up plans in the following academic year. The site will 1) recruit a total of 36 (12 per year) high school teachers with diverse backgrounds for three years to engage in advanced engineering design and manufacturing research; 2) develop and implement an innovative curriculum by translating cutting-edge research in advanced design and manufacturing from UH into high school classrooms, and meeting Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards and NGSS standards; and 3) provide interdisciplinary and hands-on experience to stimulate the interest of teachers and students in STEM. In Houston Independent School District (HISD), the minority population is 85.86%, and 74.93% of students are economically disadvantaged. This RET Site will place emphasis on recruitment from underrepresented groups including women, minorities, and persons with disabilities. Academic-year follow-up includes course module discussion and feedback, school visits, and conferences. The research experience by the participants will be disseminated to fellow teachers through conferences, teachengineering.org, RET website, and other channels. 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.