The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Education Program is hosting the U. S. Department of Energy Academies Creating Teacher Scientists (DOE ACTS) teacher professional development program. This program began July of 2007. Registration for next year will open in January 2008.
DOE ACTS program is designed by the Office of Science to create a cadre of outstanding science and math teachers with the proper content knowledge and scientific research experience to serve as leaders and agents of positive change in their local and regional teaching communities. This three-year program will use the unmatched wealth of mentoring talent at LLNL and other DOE National Laboratories to guide and enrich the teachers’ understanding of the scientific and technological world. Through this program, teachers will establish long-term relationships with their mentor scientists and teaching colleagues who will continue to support the educational efforts of the teachers when they have returned to their classrooms.
Teachers as Investigators - designed for teachers looking for ways to relate research frontiers to the classroom by updating their skills and knowledge of research methods, collaborating with research scientists, using scientific instruments, and applying hands-on laboratory technology.
Teachers as Research Associates - designed for teachers seeking an independent research experience with a mentor scientist at a LLNL. These programs are typically 8 weeks long with a primary focus on high school teachers (middle school teachers are also welcome).
Teachers selected to attend the DOE ACTS will choose to participate in one of the following content areas:
- Biotechnology - The Biotechnology Research program is designed to give teachers experience in promoting and conducting research in biotechnology with their students. Teachers will develop knowledge, methods, and skills to be used in standards-based instruction when they return to their own classrooms. Activities Include: Bacterial transformation - recombinant DNA technology, DNA fingerprinting - agarose gel electrophoresis, and tours of National Lab. and tours of National Lab. Participants will learn and apply technical writing skills in hands-on instruction and application. Research opportunities are available for participants who choose to participate in the Teacher Researcher Associate pathway.
- Fusion-Astrophysics - The Fusion and Astrophysics program is designed to give teachers experience in promoting and conducting research using spectroscopy with their students. Spectroscopy is important in a wide variety of fields such as fusion research, astrophysics, and atomic physics. Teachers will develop knowledge, methods, and skills to be used in standards-based instruction when they return to their own classrooms. The program will focus on the properties of electromagnetic radiation and how it is produced. Using a variety of hands-on activities and tours of the Lawrence Livermore National Lab, participants will discover how scientists learn about inaccessible objects like the Sun and the interior of fusion reactors using a research grade spectrometer. Participants will learn and apply technical writing skills in hands-on instruction and application. Research opportunities are available for participants who choose to participate in the Teacher Researcher Associate pathway.
- Energy Technologies & Environment - The Energy Technologies & Environment program is designed to give teachers experience in promoting and conducting research using scientific tools including some recently developed by researchers at LLNL to better understand the complexities and interdependencies of the US and world energy systems. One of these tools runs as an Excel spreadsheet enabling the user to manipulate supply/demand, production, transformation and consumption energy consumed and visualize the effects as a graph. Teachers will be able to use these tools with their students to evaluate their "what if" ideas for reducing U.S. energy dependence, and the environmental impacts of CO2 production resulting from investing in various energy technologies. Activities will include hands-on workshops, interactive lectures, and tours or research facilities at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab. Participants will learn and apply technical writing skills in hands-on instruction and application. Research opportunities are available for participants who choose to participate in the Teacher Researcher Associate pathway.