On the Role of an Authentic Research Experience for K-12 Science Teachers

A variety of programs exist that offer K-12 teachers an opportunity to perform scientific research during the summer. ~Since 2001, the NSF has offered a Research Experience for Teachers, based upon the more common Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU). ~The DOE has had the Teacher Research Associate (TRAC) program since 1989 and currently sponsors the Academies Creating Teacher-Scientists (ACTS). ~In each of these, teachers spend 2-8 weeks performing research and developing classroom activities based upon this experience. ~Many programs assess changes in knowledge or attitude towards science, a few look at teacher retention, and one looked at student achievement after a teacher completed a program. ~Currently, PPPL runs two research programs for teachers, one running for two weeks, one for six weeks. ~One program recruits teachers nationally, while the other concentrates its efforts on a single school district. ~Each program will initially run for three years and we will report on our initial data that looks at attitudes, teaching philosophy, and content knowledge before beginning the research project. ~We will also report on expected outcomes after completion of the program.