NSF: Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering and Computer Science

RET Sites support a cohort of at least 10 STEM teachers and/or community college faculty per year for a minimum of six weeks during the summer. The STEM teachers and/or community college faculty will participate in summer research activities with a common intellectual focus on a host university campus and will then participate in academic-year follow-up activities including integration of content and methods related to the summer research into their classroom practice and other related outreach activities involving teachers in their local school districts.

Number of Applications Allowed: Three applications; two in Engineering and one in Computer Science

A PI may submit only one proposal as PI or Co-PI. The principal investigator of a RET in Engineering and Computer Science Site proposal must have a full-time, tenured or tenure-track faculty appointment within a College/Department of Engineering or Engineering Technology or a College/Department of Computer and/or Information Science broadly defined (e.g., including HCI, Software Engineering, Networking Science, Informatics) within the submitting U.S. academic institution.

The Directorate for Engineering (ENG) and the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), have joined to support the Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering and Computer Science program. This program supports active long-term collaborative partnerships between K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, Computer and Information Science, and Mathematics (STEM) teachers and community college and university faculty and students to bring knowledge of engineering or computer and information science and engineering as well as technological innovation to pre-college/community college classrooms. The goal of these partnerships is to enable K-12 STEM teachers and community college faculty to translate their research experiences and new knowledge gained in university settings into their classroom activities. The university team will include faculty, graduate and undergraduate students as well as industrial advisors.

Involvement of graduate students in support of academic-year classroom activities is particularly encouraged. Partnerships with inner city, rural or other high needs schools are especially encouraged, as is participation by underrepresented minorities, women, and persons with disabilities.

As part of the long-term partnership arrangements, university undergraduate/graduate students will partner with pre-college/community college faculty in their classrooms during the academic year to help teach engineering/computer science concepts.

This announcement features two mechanisms for support of in-service and pre-service K-12 STEM teachers and community college faculty: (1) RET supplements to ongoing ENG and CISE awards and (2) new RET Site awards. RET supplements may be included outside this solicitation in proposals for new or renewed NSF Directorate for Engineering (ENG) and Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) grants or as supplements to ongoing NSF ENG and CISE funded projects. RET in Engineering and Computer Science Sites, through this solicitation, are based on independent proposals from engineering or computer and/or information science departments, schools or colleges to initiate and conduct research participation projects for K-12 STEM teachers and/or community college faculty.