Project Grant 2345019

This $223,953 federal Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the STEM Education (CFDA 47.076) program supports the "AUTHENTIC SUMMER RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR STEM PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS" project at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The project aims to address the national need for preparing high-quality STEM teachers by providing prospective secondary STEM teachers with authentic research experiences at Georgia Tech. The six-week summer program will engage undergraduate and master's-level pre-service teachers from diverse backgrounds in hands-on research in university labs, mentored by experienced researchers. Participants will then develop and implement lesson plans based on their research, with the goal of improving their STEM content knowledge, research practices, and teaching skills to contribute to stronger teacher retention. The project leverages partnerships with Clayton State University, Mercer University, and local school districts, and its evaluation will assess the impact of the research experiences on pre-service teachers' STEM learning and teaching abilities, as well as the scalability and feasibility of the model for potential adoption by other teacher education programs.