Research Experiences for Teachers in the Biology of Plants, Animals, Microorganisms, and their Environments
Program Description
This National Science Foundation funded BIORETS program at WMU provides middle and high school science teachers in Southwest Michigan with authentic research experience and transformative curricular improvement and professional development opportunities. The center piece of the program is a seven-week summer experience for 12 teachers per year in June to August, in the laboratories of WMU faculty mentors. These research projects revolve around a unifying theme: how biological organisms interact with other organisms and their environments. Here is the 2022 program poster.
The summer research experience will be complemented with faculty research seminars, professional development workshops, demonstrations of hands-on laboratory teaching modules, lunch-time discussions on research and curricular development, written curricular materials, poster presentations on research and curricular development, and fall semester classroom visits.
Each teacher accepted by the program receives a stipend of $7,560 (half disbursed in the middle of the program and the other half at the conclusion of the program). We will also reimburse for teachers' daily commuting mileage during the seven-week summer program. We are looking for highly motivated teachers who plan to translate what they learn from the BIORETS program into curricular changes. Such changes are expected to help teachers to: (a) enrich classroom teaching practices; (b) deepen students' research literacy and engagement in STEM classes; and (c) inspire a diverse population of students to pursue higher education and careers in STEM, especially biology and biology-related fields.
For more information, please contact the program director Dr. Yan Lu (yan.1.lu@wmich.edu) or co-director Dr. Silvia Rossbach (silvia.rossbach@wmich.edu).
Schedule for Summer 2022
Program activities | Months |
Potential pre-session campus visits | Mar – early Apr |
Deadline for teacher applications | Apr 15 |
Review of applications and final selection | Apr |
Offers to candidates | May 2 - May 6 |
Deadline for acceptance | May 20 |
Teacher check-in and meeting with faculty mentors | Jun 20 |
Orientation, trainings, and barbecue in a local park | Jun 20 - Jun 27 |
Independent research, research seminars, professional development workshops, teaching module demonstrations, and lunch-time discussions | Jun 20 – Aug 5 |
Submission of final written curricular materials, and poster presentation session | Aug 5 |
Faculty mentors conduct a fall semester classroom visit | Sept - Dec |
Application Information
Please e-mail the following application materials to bios-rets@wmich.edu by April 15:
· A brief resume which includes your academic and work history.
· A one-page personal statement. You may explain: (1) the science classes and the student body that you teach; (2) why you are interested in this BIORETS program; and (3) what do you hope to learn from this program for yourself and your students.
· A filled Teacher Participant Application Form.
Please have a letter of recommendation from your principal sent directly to bios-rets@wmich.edu. This letter may include demographic information of students in the school district (e.g., percentages of underrepresented or economically disadvantaged students). This program strives to broaden participation of under-represented groups in STEM fields and promote the development of a diverse and competitive future STEM workforce. Students are the workforce of the future.
WMU Faculty Mentors involved in BIORETS
- Todd Barkman, Ph.D. — plant systematics, genetics
- Wendy Beane, Ph.D. — stem cells, regeneration
- Steve Bertman, Ph.D. — biosphere-atmosphere interactions
- Devin Bloom, Ph.D. — ecology evolution, macroevolution, systematics of fishes
- Kathryn Docherty, Ph.D. — microbiology, ecology
- Sharon Gill, Ph.D. — behavioral ecology, sound ecology, ornithology
- Pam Hoppe, Ph.D. — C. elegans developmental biology
- Benjamin Koestler, Ph.D. — microbiology, infectious diseases
- Cindy Linn, Ph.D. — neurophysiology
- Yan Lu, Ph.D. — plant cell biology
- Silvia Rossbach, Ph.D. — microbiology
- John Spitsbergen, Ph.D. — neurobiology, physiology
- Frederick Stull, Ph.D. — biochemistry
This program is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) BIORETS program grant number DBI-2146882.