Research experiences for high school teachers and college instructors in mechatronics, robotics and industrial automation

Abstract

U.S. manufacturers are seeking highly skilled workers to hire in industrial automation and control jobs. Encouraging active participation of secondary school teachers and two-year college faculty in university research allows them to learn about recent discoveries and innovations, share about them in the classroom, and thereby encourage and stimulate students to pursue engineering and computer science careers such as industrial automation. The paper will describe program activities, research projects, outcomes, and lessons learned from a National Science Foundation-sponsored Research Experiences for Teachers program. Participants were recruited from science, technology, engineering and math departments in high schools and colleges throughout the U.S. Special effort was made to recruit teachers and instructors from districts and two-year colleges with large numbers of underrepresented minority students. Program objectives were to 1) provide opportunities for participants to actively participate in research and then translate their research experiences and new knowledge into classroom activities; 2) establish long-term collaborative relationships with the Mechatronics, Robotics, and Industrial Automation research community at Texas A&M University; and 3) disseminate findings and instructional materials developed for this program. Participants spent six weeks working on a research project with a mentor and a graduate student. Opinion survey data suggests that participants enjoyed the program and learned from the research experience.