Research Experiences for Teachers (RET)

This exciting fully online summer program gives K-12 and informal STEM educators from across the country the chance to learn how to incorporate culturally responsive teaching into their STEM lesson plans while working with MagLab scientists and educators.

The MagLab is a National Science Foundation funded facility that houses interdisciplinary research with both in-house staff as well as users who are making breakthroughs in STEM. Our 2022 MagLab Research Experience for Teachers program will again be completely online. This year’s program will help accepted educators to incorporate culturally responsive pedagogy into a STEM lesson of their choice.

Educators should arrive with a lesson or curriculum in mind and be prepared to work with our pedagogical and STEM experts to infuse their choice with authentic STEM research that speaks to the culture of your students. The goal of the program is for educators to update their lesson plan/curriculum in order to utilize it in their classrooms during the 2022-2023 school year.

As part of the application, you will need:

to upload a lesson plan that you want to update and explain why you have chosen it.
You must also select a scientist or area of research that occurs at the MagLab so that we can pair you with a STEM mentor from the MagLab. Please visit our research page and search for relevant research topics or mentors.

Program Highlights

HIGHLIGHTS

Runs from June 21 to August 4, 2022
Accepted applicants will meet regularly via Zoom two days a week: Tuesdays 4 pm – 6 pm and Thursdays 4 pm – 6 pm Eastern Time.

The program will run for 7-weeks beginning on June 21^st and ending on August 4^th. Accepted applicants will meet regularly via Zoom two days a week: Tuesdays 4 pm – 6 pm and Thursdays 4 pm – 6 pm Eastern Time.

Tuesdays will focus on culturally responsive pedagogy as it relates to STEM teaching.
Thursdays will include presentations and Q&A sessions with scientists and engineers at the MagLab from various disciplines including: physics, engineering, biology, chemistry, and materials science.

Educators will work in small groups to provide feedback on each other’s lesson plans during some of these sessions but there may need to be work done outside of these sessions. Educators will be paired with a STEM mentor at the MagLab who will help them strengthen the STEM aspects of their lesson. These meetings will be determined by the scientist and educator and will be held outside of the Tuesday and Thursday sessions. There will also be weekly journal prompts and asynchronous activities that will supplement the zoom sessions. The program will culminate with each educator presenting their updated lesson plan/curriculum to the group.

Each teacher accepted by the program receives a $3,600 stipend paid at the conclusion of the program. Participation in the program includes actively participating in sessions, completing the lesson plan and submitting a critical reflection on the process. We are looking for highly motivated teachers who plan to take the lessons that they learn in the RET program and translate that knowledge to their students so that we can build a more diverse STEM workforce.

Applications Materials

Be prepared to submit the following in your application:

A STEM lesson plan that you want to improve with culturally responsive pedagogy.
The name of a MagLab scientist or project that you think could help you with the STEM portion of your lesson plan. Search our research page to find out more about our scientists.
A completed application that asks you why you are interested, what you hope to gain from the experience for both you and your students. The application will also ask you details about your current school or informal STEM education program, including student demographics.

Applications

The application portal for the 2022 program has closed.

This is a competitive program and not all applicants can be accepted. Notifications of your acceptance into the program will be emailed during the week of May 3rd. All participants must be able to participate in the live zoom sessions, so please plan your schedule accordingly in order to fully participate in the program.

Unfortunately, due to our funding source, only US citizens or permanent residents (Green card holders) are eligible for this program.

RET Class of 2021

Our RET class of 2021 developed science lesson plans that incorporated culturally responsive pedagogy. These educators learned how to connect MagLab science and engineering into their lessons so that they could be more inclusive of all students. This is the first time our educators have developed lesson plans that are now available to others. We encourage you to take these plans as a foundation and tailor them for your students.

Culturally Responsive STEM Lesson Plan: What Happened in Texas in February of 2021?