Research Experience for Teachers at UWM

Update: Applications received by April 25, 2008 are currently under consideration. A decision about accepting further applications will be made after May 5, 2008.

What is RET? with support from the National Science Foundation, the Manfred Olson Planetarium and the Departments of Chemistry, Geosciences, and Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee run a Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program each summer.

The general objectives the RET program are: to improve the quality of local science teaching and thus stimulate the interest and imaginations of students who might not otherwise pursue science studies at college; to further develop and nurture the links between UWM and the local and extended educational community; to further the professional development of high school instructional staff; and to allow the said staff to develop specific teaching projects which they will take back to and use in their classrooms; to develop online courses to support the continuing education of high school science teachers in Wisconsin. A major goal of the program is to seek ways of improving the quality of teacher training and providing enrichment and support for in-service teachers.

Main program activities begin in June and last 6-8 weeks: during this time, interns will work full time at UWM or a distant site with their faculty mentors; it is very important to understand that both UWM and NSF regards this as a full time commitment. Teacher - interns will be expected to broaden and deepen their knowledge of astronomy, chemistry, geosciences, and physics; increase their science literacy; reconsider how they teach the traditional chemistry, geosciences, and physics curricula; and use their experience during the program to develop an original teaching project suitable for incorporation into classes that they regularly teach in their schools.

Interns are expected to implement and develop this teaching project in their schools during the following academic year, and this implementation will be assessed by RET staff.

Five of the interns from the 2007 program will be returning in 2008, and thus there are vacancies for THREE new interns. Recruitment of new interns will be limited to qualified, in-service science teachers in high schools or middle schools, with first choice given to suitable and fully qualified applicants from Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). If no suitable applicants from MPS apply, applicants from other school districts will be considered.

The stipend for an RET intern is $9,650, split into three installments: $3,500 on each of July 15 and August 15, and $2,650 payable upon implementation and assessment (date variable). Interns who do not implement their project in a timely manner will forfeit this last installment.

A budget of $1000 per intern is available to buy materials to assist the development and construction of the teaching project. A limited travel budget is also available to cover the expenses of visits to (for example) the Synchrotron Light Source at Stoughton, WI.

The deadline for application is April 25, 2008. Completed applications MUST be received by that date.

How do I apply?

The three vacancies for the 2008 program are described below. For further information about the research activities and possibilities for teaching project development, please feel free to contact the faculty mentors (e-mail preferred).

For general information about RET application, contact Dr Robert L. Wood. (Telephone 414-229-5303; Fax 414-229-5589; e-mail: chunnaic@uwm.edu)

The teacher-mentor for this program is Kristin Michalski, of Mukwonago HS. She can offer advice to potential applicants about the preparation of teaching project outlines. She can be contacted at: michakr@MUKWONAGO.K12.WI.US

To submit a formal application, you must:

1. Download, print, and FULLY COMPLETE the application form (this is a Microsoft Word download); mail the completed form to Dr Robert Wood (address provided on the form).

2. Submit an outline of the teaching project you wish to develop during your time with us. Examples of teaching projects as developed after the summer program are available on the RET website: the teaching projects will be updated after the March meeting of WSST when the interns from 2007 will present their final teaching projects. This teaching project is a critical part of your application, and you should devote great care to its preparation and presentation: please do NOT submit handwritten descriptions of the teaching project. We do not expect a finished, polished teaching project with your application, but we DO expect a compelling outline that suggests the work of an innovative and creative teacher.

3. Arrange (see page 10 of application form) for your principal to submit a detailed letter of support addressing the criteria listed on the application form. Please note that brief, general letters of support that do not specifically address these criteria are of little use.

Note that in fairness to all applicants, we cannot delay the process of selection to accommodate incomplete applications. The April 25 deadline will be strictly adhered to. Applicants from MPS will be considered first: in the absence of suitable applicants from MPS, applicants from other school districts will be considered.

The Research Experience for Teachers program is funded by the National Science Foundation (visit http://nsf.gov)

What am I applying for?

Details of activities and teaching projects of former interns can be reviewed at this website. Applicants are encouraged to look at this material before submitting an application. There are three vacancies for 2008: one in Chemistry, one in Physics/Geosciences, and one at the Manfred Olson Planetarium.

A. Interdisciplinary project with Barry Cameron (Geo), Carol Hirschmugl (Physics), and Beth Spear (returning RET intern):

The proposed activities involves picking fresh volcanic glass and minerals from volcanic rock samples; sample preparation involves creating doubly polished glass wafers for the FTIR, and then analysis at UWM and at the Synchrotron Radiation Center in Madison.

The intern can expect to be involved with sample preparation (cutting and polishing samples), and microscopic identification of minerals and other features in samples infrared microspectroscopic measurements (some measurements require traveling to Madison to use state of the art facilities). Data analysis

Minimum Qualifications: a demonstrable interest in geology/volcanology; familiarity with excel; sound knowledge of algebra and trig, and familiarity with calculus; familiarity with microscopes; basic understanding of light and electromagnetic radiation.

To contact faculty mentors:

Barry Cameronbcameron@uwm.edu

Carol Hirschmugl cjhirsch@uwm.edu

B. Working with Jean Creighton (Director, Manfred Olson Planetarium) and Karen Green (returning RET intern):

The successful candidate will be an innovative middle-school science teacher with demonstrated and extensive experience with minority students; the intern will work with the astronomer and Director of the Manfred Olson Planetarium, Jean Creighton, to design a planetarium program that excites middle-school kids and meets several of their learning targets in science and, possibly, across the curriculum.

The 55-75 min program should be interactive and engaging with special attention to minority girls' needs in this age group. The successful candidate will design a brochure/flier that will appeal to the teachers and the students of middle school to advertise the program we design. The successful candidate will also design tools for student and teacher assessment of our program.

Minimum qualifications: a demonstrable interest in astronomy and/or space studies; familiarity with powerpoint or keynote; experience working successfully with minority students in middle school.

To contact faculty mentor:

Jean Creighton: jean@gravity.phys.uwm.edu

Also visit: http://www.planetarium.uwm.edu

C. Working with Andy Pacheco (Chemistry)

Overview of the summer project

This is a new addition to RET. Our research group is studying how some bacteria manage to survive by "eating" only ammonia, while others can "breathe" nitrite instead of oxygen. These questions are very important because the bacteria in question alter their surroundings substantially, in ways that affect agricultural productivity and water quality, among other things.

The everyday words "eating" and "breathing" are intimately related to the important chemical concepts of oxidation and reduction, which are first introduced in high school. Throughout the project, my graduate students and I will help the intern to reinforce their understanding of oxidation and reduction, and to see the importance of these processes to living organisms.

Specific goals for the summer project

Chemically speaking, our research group studies two enzymes (biological catalysts). One allows a certain class of bacteria to oxidize ammonia (NH₄⁺) to nitrite (NO₂^-), and the other allows a different class of bacteria to go the other way, and reduce nitrite to ammonia. The two processes are shown with red arrows in the adjoining figure. The figure also shows the reactions of interest in relation to several other processes that interconvert all of the biologically important forms of nitrogen. The complete figure is called "the nitrogen cycle", and has enormous economic and ecological importance. Our immediate research goal is to understand how the two enzymes of interest are optimized to go in one direction or the other (convert ammonia to nitrite or the reverse).

The summer internship project will focus on preparing and studying the properties of a solid compound that, when dissolved in water, releases nitric oxide gas (NO). Notice that nitric oxide is an intermediate in the interconversion of ammonia and nitrite (see figure). We want to be able to study interactions between nitric oxide with our enzymes of interest, but it is a very reactive molecule, and difficult to handle. We hope that the solid precursor molecule will be much easier to handle, and make our experiments easier.

In our research group we use a lot of sophisticated instrumentation and equipment, such as nanosecond pulsed lasers and rapid-scanning UV/Visible spectroscopy for investigating fast reactions, and a glove box for manipulating air-sensitive materials. Thus, the project will present an opportunity for the intern to observe, and in some cases use, cutting-edge techniques. On the other hand, behind the fancy enzymes and sophisticated equipment, lie very basic chemical concepts such as oxidation and reduction, and energy transduction and conservation, which are first introduced in high school. Thus, the project will provide an opportunity to solidify important chemical principles, and to see how these principles relate to other disciplines such as biology and geology.

Minimum qualifications required for this internship

Applicants should have taken freshman chemistry at some point in their careers. More advanced chemistry will be helpful, but is not essential. The applicants should currently be teaching chemistry at some level in high school.

To contact faculty mentor:

Andy Pacheco: apacheco@uwm.edu