Purdue University, Tuskegee University partner in research experience for high school STEM educators
Offered each summer over a three-year period, RET is a new initiative that gives 11 secondary teachers hands-on experience in sustainable electronics research as well as other professional development activities, such as field trips and presentations from the Industrial Advisory Board.
Program directors are Dr. Inez Hua, Purdue Professor of Environmental and Ecological Engineering and Civil Engineering, and Dr. Mike Curry, Tuskegee University, Professor of Chemistry.
Participants attended the program on campus at either Purdue in West Lafayette, Indiana or Tuskegee, located in Tuskegee, Alabama, and their activities were divided into three phases. Phase 1 was hosted at Purdue and included an introduction to engineering, research methods and ethics, best practices in teaching engineering, teaching sustainability concepts in engineering contexts, and cohort-building. Phase 2 focused on the teachers’ development as researchers in their respective research teams, and collaboration took place both in-person and through teleconference sessions. All educators convened at Purdue for Phase 3 activities including presentations, discussions, collective evaluations, and closing sessions.
Research mentors will maintain contact with and provide support to participating teachers as they implement the high school curricula into classrooms during the 2016-17 school year. Funding for the RET program is provided by the National Science Foundation.
2016 participants, pictured from left: Takeyla Ross (Booker T. Washington High School, Tuskegee, AL), Jordan Kelsey (Hoosier Academy, Virtual School), Dr. Inez Hua (program director at Purdue), Stephanie Crook (Hebron High School, Hebron, IN), Joshua Sayer (Columbus Signature Academy New Tech, Columbus, IN), Sarah Koch (Fremont Community Schools, Fremont, IN) John Gensic (Penn High School, Mishawaka, IN), Melissa McCarthy (William Henry Harrison High School, West Lafayette, IN), Charles Snyder (Noblesville High School, Noblesville, IN), Angelo Badea (Robert E. Lee High School, Montgomery, AL). Not pictured: JaToria Washington-Floyd (Booker T. Washington High School, Tuskegee, AL), Shani Jones (Sumter Central High School, York, AL), and Dr. Mike Curry (program director at Tuskegee).