Ames Laboratory Teachers as Investigators (TAI) Program
Dates: June 28 – July 23, 2010
Target applicant pool: middle school (5th-8th grades)
Ames Laboratory Teachers as Research Associates (TARA) Program
Dates: June 14 – July 23, 2010
Target applicant pool: high school (9th-12th grades)
Ames Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy research facility, on the campus of Iowa State University, is offering middle and high school (5th-12th grade) science teachers an exciting professional-development opportunity to experience science in the making. The overriding theme of the DOE ACTS program at Ames Laboratory is the physical environment and how knowledge of physical, biological and earth sciences can influence its positive evolution. Teachers will be trained to effectively impart in the next generation of students the wonders and complexities of scientific discovery, while preparing them for the challenges involved in decision-making as members of a technological society. We anticipate the teachers who successfully complete this program will (1) convey to their students the vulnerability of the environment to human influence; (2) become teacher scientists, equipped to relay the essence of science to their students; and (3) encourage their students to develop their sense of curiosity and inquiry about the world around them. This program will give teachers the insight and knowledge to understand the complex relationship between humans and their physical environment and skills to better teach this in the classroom. Throughout the summer program national science education standards will be addressed for each topic according to grade level as will the nature of science, the scientific method and current science education pedagogy.
Teachers will be trained to turn their classrooms into environments where their students will become engaged in investigation, observation and interpretation of scientific concepts. Teachers will also be trained to impart applications of these concepts in the real world and introduce their students to the array of professions that utilize this knowledge. Upon completion of each summer program, participants may apply to DOE ACTS for funds to help implement new strategies in their classrooms. During the school year, every effort will be made to maintain Web-based communication between participants and Ames Laboratory scientists and staff who will continue to support the educational effort of the participants once they have returned to their classrooms. Ames Laboratory ACTS participants are encouraged to continue their collaboration with their mentor scientists by developing research activities for the classroom. Participants are also encouraged to develop joint activities between their schools, thus maintaining continued partnerships throughout the academic year. When possible, teachers will be invited to bring their students to campus to tour the facilities.
ACTS 2010 TAI: During the first summer, the program will focus on the “physical environment” with emphasis on energy: transfer and conservation, solar, wind and hybrid energy, and related fields of physics. Teachers will receive up to 20 hours of content instruction in these areas including the effective use of relevant FOSS resources. Teachers will be introduced to cutting-edge research pertinent to these topics presented by Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University scientists and they will visit research and industry related facilities. Teachers will rotate through research labs in order to identify the research area they will enter in their second year of the program. In year two, teachers will conduct their own small research projects under the mentorship of Ames Laboratory scientists and will also receive content instruction in chemistry with emphasis on biorenewable chemicals and fuels, as well as water, soil and air pollution. Teachers accepted into the program will be encouraged to participate in three summer programs over the course of three consecutive years. The first two years teachers will participate in the four-week TAI program and for the final year teachers will participate in the six-week “Teachers as Research Associates TARA” program described below.
ACTS 2010 TARA: Teachers will spend three consecutive summers engaged in cutting edge research in Ames Laboratory research facilities conducting their own independent research project under the mentorship of Ames Laboratory scientists. Participants will be given the choice to either stay in the same research lab for all three years or rotate through different research areas each summer. Teachers will attend weekly colloquia to learn about other research projects taking place at Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University. They will also attend workshops and seminars relating to their research project.
For more information, contact Adah Leshem-Ackerman at 515-294-8453 or adah@iastate.edu.
Visit the DOE ACTS Web site to begin the registration process.
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