The OU Research Experience for Teachers Program

Announcement

Application Form

Engineering Research

RET Orientation 2006

RET Orientation 2008

NSF-OU RET letter

The University of Oklahoma College of Engineering proudly announces its 2008 Research Experience for Teachers (RET). This year’s event is made possible through the generous support of the National Science Foundation and the University of Oklahoma. Objectives for the five-week summer program include our desire to:  1.) engage secondary math and science teachers and community college faculty in engineering research at OU laboratories and 2.) assist them in transferring their research experiences into exciting activities for their students.

OU-RET participants will choose engineering research in Environmental Engineering and Science (OU-Norman campus), Industrial Engineering (OU-Norman campus), or Electrical and Computer Engineering (OU-Tulsa campus). Teams will develop, design, and implement a research hypothesis with guidance from and in collaboration with OU faculty and graduate students.

Members from the OU College of Education and Department of Human Relations will work closely with teachers to develop appropriate science and math lessons and meaningful assessment plans that meet National Standards criteria.

Projects carried out by last summer’s participants included alternative energy (solar, wind, and hydro energy), human factors and biomechanics, landfill study and analysis, wireless communication to support disaster recovery effort, and acoustics and sound wave directionality detection, among others.

2008 OU-RET participants will work in groups to create exciting and innovative research activities that they can incorporate into their own classrooms. Not only will these make science and math more relevant to students, they will engage them in the scientific process much like teachers will experience during the five-week summer session.

Each teacher in the program will receive a $3,500 stipend and be eligible for seed funding for supplies and equipment. Last year thousands of dollars in software and materials—sensors, testing meters, data collection systems, graphical software, scientific kits, and robots—was awarded to assist in this endeavor. Funding to support on-campus housing and travel expenses is available to qualified teachers.

Visit the OU-RET website at http://www.ret.ou.edu for more information about the 2008 OU-RET program and to download an application form. Remember that participant selection is highly competitive, and the deadline for applications is March 30, 2008. The deadline has been extended to April 30, 2008.