The Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program at Keck Graduate Institute provides summer internship opportunities for a small number of middle and high school science teachers from Claremont or surrounding school districts who wish to learn about current scientific developments, become involved in ongoing scientific research at KGI, and leverage this experience in the development of new K12 curriculum materials. - Funding for 2 positions annually is provided through the Engineering Directorate of the National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Four week full-time program: June 23 – July 18, 2008 (dates flexible)
- Participants are compensated through stipends at a level commensurate with their current salary
- The program covers the cost of materials required to develop new curriculum activities during the summer and to implement these in the classroom during the following academic year (up to $1000).
- Application deadline: May 2, 2008
How to apply:
Please click here to download an application form in MS word format, or click here to download an application form in PDF format (save the form to your computer). Send the completed application form as email attachment to aniemz@kgi.edu, or via regular mail to: RET Program
Attn: Angelika Niemz
Keck Graduate Institute
535 Watson Drive
Claremont, CA 91711 Program Overview:
The Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program includes aspects of training, independent research, and curriculum development. Specific training sessions at the beginning of the program will enable participants to acquire the necessary background knowledge and technical skills. Teachers will learn how to use state of the art equipment and will become involved in ongoing research activities at KGI under the guidance of KGI faculty members and full time researchers. Projects are available relevant to middle and high school level biology, chemistry, physics/ engineering and computer sciences. Teachers will spend approximately half of the time during the program on independent research, and the other half on developing and testing new curriculum activities such as lectures, demonstrations and labs for implementation in the classroom during the following academic year. The new curriculum material will be developed in accordance with the National Science Content Standards, and the Science Content Standards for California public schools. The RET program coincides with the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program offered at KGI during the summer (click here for more information). Teachers will have the opportunity to participate in a range of REU program activities such as workshops, research seminars, ethics seminars, and field trips to local biotech companies. At the end of the RET program, participating teachers will have the opportunity to present a poster during the REU program poster session, to showcase and discuss their accomplishments with REU students and the broader KGI research community. Participating teachers will be asked to write up a brief summary of their project as well as documentation of novel classroom activities by the end of the program. These will be made available to the public through the KGI RET program website. What is it like to be an RET participant? An example:
In the summer of 2005, Mr. Pat Smolenski participated in an RET program at KGI. Mr. Smolenski has over 25 years of experience as a middle and high school science teacher, and has taught regular and AP classes in earth sciences, chemistry, physics, computer sciences and electronics. During the RET program, he received training in how to use the optical fluorescence microscope, atomic force microscope, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscope available at KGI. He learned how to independently synthesize gold nanospheres, characterize them using UV/Vis spectroscopy, and was involved in their subsequent DNA functionalization. For his research project, Mr. Smolenski worked on developing an instrument for impedance based DNA detection on silicon. From this research experience, he developed three new curriculum activities: a lecture on “what is a nanometer” using the obtained microscopic images, a lab demonstration of the synthesis of gold nanospheres, and a lab experiment on the salt-induced aggregation of gold nanospheres and characterization of the resulting color change by UV/Vis spectroscopy. He attended two REU seminars and participated in the field trip to UC Irvine, which included a lecture on micro- and nano-electromechanical systems by Prof. Marc Madou, and a tour of the integrated nanosysytems research facility. Overall, he rated the experience very positively. Questions?
Please contact: Angelika Niemz, Associate Professor and RET program coordinator (aniemz@kgi.edu, 909-607-9854) |
