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The NIST Summer Institute for Middle School Science Teachers: Translating NIST Research into Activities for the Middle School Classroom

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The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Summer Institute for Middle School Science Teachers, a collaboration between NIST and local school districts, is a two-week workshop designed to support middle school science teachers through a combination of hands-on activities, lectures, tours, and visits with scientists and engineers in their laboratories. Throughout the workshop teachers are provided with in-depth material on topics in the middle school curriculum taught by NIST scientists and also provided resources and instructional tools to teach that material in the classroom.

The NIST Summer Institute is designed to increase the teachers’ understanding of the subjects they teach, provide materials and resources to implement what they have learned at NIST in the classroom, rekindle their enthusiasm for science, and provide a network of scientists and engineers at NIST available for consultation. Teachers finish the NIST Summer Institute with a wealth of knowledge about core topics such as forensics and materials science, and materials to integrate these topics into their existing curriculum.

To introduce them to scientific research teachers are given the opportunity to spend an hour each week one-on-one with a scientist or engineer in his/her lab, learning about research and conversing about topics of interest. Undergraduate fellows doing research at NIST are also incorporated into the NIST Summer Institute, and are available for one-on-one visits and as members of a panel discussion on middle school science education. The undergraduates are questioned about their middle school science experiences, and for suggestions on ways to encourage interest in science, technology, engineering, and math(STEM) careers. Other informal occasions are made available for NIST scientists and engineers, undergraduate research fellows, and NIST Summer Institute teachers to meet and socialize with the goal of building networks for future interactions.

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Satterfield, M., & Heller-Zeisler, S. (2010, June), The Nist Summer Institute For Middle School Science Teachers: Translating Nist Research Into Activities For The Middle School Classroom Paper presented at 2010 Annual Conference & Exposition, Louisville, Kentucky. 10.18260/1-2--15732