The vision of the Societally Relevant Engineering Technologies-Research Experience for Teachers (SRET-RET) was to leverage the considerable resources of the University of Southern California to create long-term partnerships among world-renowned engineering researchers and K-12 teachers in Los Angles inner-city schools. The 6-week SRET-RET summer program brought knowledge of science, technology and engineering directly to middle and high school educators (10 teachers per year over 3 years) by involving them in mentored, discovery-based, and authentic learning experiences. In addition to their immersion in the research environment, SRET-RET teachers participate in engineering, technology, and pedagogy professional development workshops which facilitate the synthesis and translation of their new found knowledge and skills into meaningful and rigorous K-12 classroom activities that spark enthusiasm for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, particularly among underrepresented minority students. The academic year follow-up component of the SRET-RET program was structured to sustain and elaborate on the accomplishments the teachers make in the summer. It facilitates communication between the SRET-RET teachers and their K-12 colleagues as well as their SRET-RET university partners.
Funding Agency: National Science Foundation
Investigators: Maja Mataric and Gisele Ragusa, University of Southern California