| NSF Org: |
EEC Division of Engineering Education and Centers |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | August 29, 2012 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | August 20, 2013 |
| Award Number: | 1200221 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Mary Poats
EEC Division of Engineering Education and Centers ENG Directorate for Engineering |
| Start Date: | October 1, 2012 |
| End Date: | September 30, 2016 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $450,000.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $450,000.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2013 = $150,000.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
300 TURNER ST NW BLACKSBURG VA US 24060-3359 (540)231-5281 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
114F Randolph Hall Blacksburg VA US 24061-0001 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | RES EXP FOR TEACHERS(RET)-SITE |
| Primary Program Source: |
01001314DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.041 |
ABSTRACT
This award provides funding for a three year continuing award for a Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering and Computer Science Site Program at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VT) entitled, RET Site: Innovation-based Manufacturing, under the direction of Dr. Christopher B. Williams.
In the last decades, the North American manufacturing sector has been continuously challenged by competition from low labor cost countries. In order to remain competitive, the manufacturing sector is in urgent need of fundamental research efforts that are dedicated to enabling the efficient transition of innovative laboratory research to full-scale production. To address this need, VT has formed the Center for Innovation-based Manufacturing (CIbM), which is composed of a multidisciplinary team of researchers that are exploring new manufacturing technologies, improvements to traditional technologies, and improved methods for managing innovation, information, manufacturing processes and their related supply chains. The mission of the CIbM is to create a foundation for innovation in manufacturing systems as a means to accelerate the commercial development of innovative technologies and thus transform and advance the country's manufacturing infrastructure while training the next generation of manufacturing leaders. In this vein, the CIbM proposes to host a RET site (RET:IbM) that will provide a total of 36 science, math, and pre-engineering middle and high school teachers (12 per year for 3 years) with a 6-week summer research and professional development experience. The primary goal of the RET:IbM is to make significant steps towards improving young people's perception of engineering and manufacturing by providing opportunities for teachers to engage in cutting-edge manufacturing research topics that are rich with contextual examples of STEM principles. This goal clearly advances discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training and learning.
In-service and pre-service teacher participants will be recruited from counties of southwest Virginia, which contain both rural and urban areas, thus impacting a wide socio-economic spectrum. The manufaturing focus of the proposed RET:IbM program will resonate well with the region's established history, but recently diminishing presence, in this vital portion of our nation's economy. The sum of the proposed program's initiatives will result in a pipeline of educated and motivated students eager to enter STEM disciplines.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
There have been varied outcomes for the RET Site: Innovation-based Manufacturing. The program hosted three cohorts of science, mathematics and technology (STEM) education teachers at Virginia Tech in the summers of 2012-2015. 34 total teachers conducted research with university faculty across varied projects in the domain of advanced manufacturing. Their contributions led to several peer-reviewed scholarly publications on topics ranging from evaluation of metal corrision to 3D Printing copper parts.
The teachers also participated in professional development workshops that included training on both "inquiry by design" pedagogy and in 3D Printing. From Through the cominbation of their research experience, this pedagogical training, and desktop-scale 3D printer for their classrom, the teachers developed curriculum integrating inquiry with engineering design across a variety of STEM topics.In total, these activities promoted the development and dissemination of manufacturing-related STEM classroom modules across the southeastern and mid-atlantic United States. The curriculum developed by the teachers has been shared on a publically-available website for other STEM teachers with 3D Printers to leverage.
The primary goal of the RET:Innovation-based Manufacturing Site was to make significant steps towards improving teachers' and the youth’s perception of engineering and manufacturing by providing opportunities for teachers to engage in cutting-edge manufacturing research topics that are rich with contextual examples of the application of STEM principles. Teachers reported that the instructional applications introduced in the project completely changed the process they utilized to plan and facilitate instruction in their classrooms. The teachers have also assumed leadership roles in their local school districts, as well as at the state and national level. For example, a teacher participant reported, "I am currently working on a 3D printing project in my classes called Catapults and Parabolas. ... The project will culminate in a series of competitions the students will compete in with their catapults. I received a grant from the local education foundation for materials and prizes for this project idea." This teacher, along with another teacher who participated in that summer session have been invited to make presentations at three math conferences, locally and nationally about their work in the RET program.
In addition to the RET teachers, 15 pre-service teachers and teachers in southwest Virginia and the Mississippi Delta attended our professional development workshops on 3D Printing and inquiry-by-design pedogogy.This expansion, in which the 3D Printing curriculum developed during by the RET teachers is being shared, provides with authentic experiences that improve their understanding of manufacturing in today's world.
In the area of dissmeination, peer-reviewed journal papers and conference presentations introduced the instructional model integrating inquiry-based instruction and engineering design. The manuscript introducing the instructional model effectively makes the instructional applications more widely accessible. These presentations resulted in requests from teachers to have workshops for their school district.
Last Modified: 03/04/2017
Modified by: Christopher B Williams
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