Lessons Learned from Year 1 of NSF Research Experience for Teachers Site at North Dakota State University

Beena Ajmera; Sarah Crary; Christi McGeorge

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: NSF Grantees Poster Session
Page Count: 7
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--41948
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/41948
Download Count: 373

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Paper Authors

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Beena Ajmera Iowa State University of Science and Technology

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Dr. Beena Ajmera has conducted research related to geotechnical engineering and has taught soil mechanics, surveying, engineering mathematics, geotechnical earthquake engineering, soil and site improvement, slope stability and retaining walls, and advanced soil testing courses. She has received several national and international awards for her research including, among others, the inaugural Oldrich Hungr Award from the International Consortium on Landslides, Thomas A. Middlebrooks Award from the Geo-Institute, Collingwood Prize from ASCE, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, U.S. Society of Dams Scholarship, and Dwight D. Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship twice. Dr. Ajmera has delivered over 20 invited presentations. As an Assistant Professor, she has supervised over 100 high school, community college, undergraduate and graduate students on various research projects. She serves as President of the North Dakota Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a Councilor in the Engineering Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research and serves as their representative for the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) Oversight Committee. Dr. Ajmera is also a member of the Earthquake Engineering and Soil Dynamics (EESD) Technical Committee, the Embankments, Dams and Slopes (EDS) Technical Committee and the Student Participation Committee of the ASCE Geo-Institute, where she serves as Chair of the EDS Student Involvement Initiative and Co-Director of the National GeoWall Competition. As the Liaison from the United States representing the Geo-Institute, Dr. Ajmera is a member of the Younger Member Presidential Group of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. She also serves as an editor of the journals "Landslides" and "Geoenvironmental Disasters." She is registered as a Professional Engineer in the State of California. Engineering.

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Sarah Crary North Dakota State University

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Christi McGeorge North Dakota State University

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Abstract

A new Research Experience for Teachers (RET) site was established in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at North Dakota State University (NDSU) with funding from the National Science Foundation Division of Engineering Education and Centers (NSF Award #1953102). The site focused on civil engineering instruction around the theme of mitigating natural disasters for secondary education (6th to 12th grade) teachers. Eight local teachers and one pre-service teacher (who comprised the first cohort) were provided with a six-week long authentic research experience during the summer, which they translated into a hands-on curriculum for their classrooms during the 2021-2022 academic year. Partnerships were developed between the host institution, area teachers and local partners from civil engineering industries. This paper will summarize the lessons learned by the authors as well as the effectiveness of the program activities to accomplish two objectives: (1) provide a deeper understanding of civil engineering and (2) develop better abilities among secondary education teachers to prepare future science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) leaders. Several strengths were identified by the authors as they reflected on the summer activities including the successes in creating strong connections between the teachers, faculty members and graduate students, and the industry partners as well as the agility of the core research team to overcome unexpected challenges. However, the reflections also revealed several areas for improvement that would increase the accessibility of the site to underserved and/or underrepresented teacher populations, better utilize the resources available and in general, improve the quality of the program and curriculum developed by the teachers. Included within this paper are suggestions that the authors would make to improve current and future RET sites. All of the teachers agreed or strongly agreed that their participation in the RET program increased their knowledge of STEM topics and specifically, civil engineering topics. The participants agreed to varying extents that they will use the information they learned from the program to teach their students and will implement the new strategies they gained to promote increased student learning about STEM topics. Furthermore, the feedback that they provided corroborated some of the same changes the authors plan to implement.

Citation
Format

Ajmera, B., & Crary, S., & McGeorge, C. (2022, August), Lessons Learned from Year 1 of NSF Research Experience for Teachers Site at North Dakota State University Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41948

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - A new Research Experience for Teachers (RET) site was established in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at North Dakota State University (NDSU) with funding from the National Science Foundation Division of Engineering Education and Centers (NSF Award #1953102). The site focused on civil engineering instruction around the theme of mitigating natural disasters for secondary education (6th to 12th grade) teachers. Eight local teachers and one pre-service teacher (who comprised the first cohort) were provided with a six-week long authentic research experience during the summer, which they translated into a hands-on curriculum for their classrooms during the 2021-2022 academic year. Partnerships were developed between the host institution, area teachers and local partners from civil engineering industries. This paper will summarize the lessons learned by the authors as well as the effectiveness of the program activities to accomplish two objectives: (1) provide a deeper understanding of civil engineering and (2) develop better abilities among secondary education teachers to prepare future science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) leaders.
Several strengths were identified by the authors as they reflected on the summer activities including the successes in creating strong connections between the teachers, faculty members and graduate students, and the industry partners as well as the agility of the core research team to overcome unexpected challenges. However, the reflections also revealed several areas for improvement that would increase the accessibility of the site to underserved and/or underrepresented teacher populations, better utilize the resources available and in general, improve the quality of the program and curriculum developed by the teachers. Included within this paper are suggestions that the authors would make to improve current and future RET sites.
All of the teachers agreed or strongly agreed that their participation in the RET program increased their knowledge of STEM topics and specifically, civil engineering topics. The participants agreed to varying extents that they will use the information they learned from the program to teach their students and will implement the new strategies they gained to promote increased student learning about STEM topics. Furthermore, the feedback that they provided corroborated some of the same changes the authors plan to implement.
AU  - Beena Ajmera
AU  - Sarah Crary
AU  - Christi McGeorge
CY  - Minneapolis, MN
DA  - 2022/08/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Lessons Learned from Year 1 of NSF Research Experience for Teachers Site at North Dakota State University
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/41948
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--41948
ER  -