Lessons Learned from a Collaborative NSF RET Program involving Three Regional Universities

摘要

A collaborative National Science Foundation Research Experience for Teacher program involving three regional universities in the Midwest recently hosted its final cohort of teachers, preservice teachers and engineering students. This collaborative RET site placed the participant teams at one of the three regional universities to work on engineering research projects that connect with regional strengths in advanced manufacturing and materials. This paper will discuss the lessons learned from managing and facilitating a collaborative program. It will also discuss how this program was able to leverage regional assets to provide a deep and meaningful experiential learning opportunity for the participants. Finally, it will discuss how the participants were guided through a process to develop curriculum that connected their experiences and employed research based best practices for encouraging underrepresented populations to pursue engineering.