NIST Summer Institute for Middle School Science Teachers

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is soliciting applications from qualified public school districts or accredited private educational institutions that are teaching students in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) at the middle school level (Grades 6-8). Such schools may offer instruction in general science fields including earth science, physical science, chemistry, physics, and/or biology. NIST will award funding that will support the attendance of middle school teachers in the NIST Summer Institute for Middle School Science Teachers (NIST SI), to be held July 6-19, 2010 to be held at the NIST Gaithersburg, Maryland, campus. The aim of the NIST SI is to increase teachers’ understanding of the subjects they teach, provide materials and resources to implement what they have learned at NIST in the classroom, enhance their enthusiasm for science, and provide them the opportunity to develop an on-going network with the scientists and engineers at NIST, who would be available for consultation even after the NIST SI has ended. The NIST Summer Institute is a hands-on workshop where middle school science teachers are able to take advantage of resources from the nation’s standards and measurement laboratory, the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The workshop will provide teachers with instructional materials and ideas to use in their teaching, and will emphasize the measurement science done at NIST. The aim is to take a selection of the cutting-edge research at NIST and help the teachers translate this through hands-on activities into classroom-based learning modules. In addition to ideas and activities to incorporate into lesson plans, teaching tools are directly provided to allow the teachers to demonstrate to their students the activities that they select from this workshop. The program will provide a world-class opportunity for those teaching our nation's next generation of scientists to learn more about the subjects they teach and the research in those subjects at NIST, and offer a platform from which teachers can inspire their students to pursue STEM careers. Teachers representing successful applicants will be supported via a small stipend, awarded through their respective school district or private educational institution.