DOE’s RENEW initiative to support seven Pathway Summer Institutes for Educators of underrepresented and underserved groups in STEM

(Press-News.org) The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science (SC) will support nearly 85 educators who either teach at schools and community colleges with large populations of students historically underserved and/or underrepresented in STEM or are educators who are from groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM through awards for seven Pathway Summer Institutes for Educators at seven national laboratories. 

The funding comes from SC’s Reaching a New Energy Sciences Workforce (RENEW) initiative (see details at  https://science.osti.gov/initiatives/RENEW). 

Sponsored by the Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS), the WDTS RENEW Pathway Summer Institutes for Educators aim to cultivate a diverse new generation of the energy sciences workforce by engaging middle/high school and community college educators in authentic research experiences and professional development at DOE national laboratories.

The new awards are:

Argonne National Laboratory, AI for Science: A Teacher Institute Integrating Data and AI into the Science Classroom Brookhaven National Laboratory, Sensors in Scientific Investigations: A Training Institute in Scientific Computing and Earth and Environmental Systems Sciences for Secondary Educators Brookhaven National Laboratory, SPARK Educator Institute Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Quantum Information Science Training Program for STEM Educators Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Teacher Summer Institute Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, STEM Institute @ PNNL Sandia National Laboratories (Lead) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Collaborative), Quantum, Computing, Math and Physics Summer Camp (QCaMP) for Educators These WDTS RENEW Pathway Summer Institutes for Educators will form a consortium to explore, initiate, and sustain pathways for educators to prepare their students to enter the science and technology workforce in support of the DOE mission. The Pathways Summer Institutes for Educators will leverage existing partnerships between the DOE national laboratories and local, regional, or national organizations supporting underrepresented groups in STEM to recruit participants. Middle school, high school, and community college educators will participate in a range of activities to increase STEM efficacy and promote STEM identity for themselves and their students. Examples of activities include hands-on learning guided by a mentor or mentoring team, networking with mentors and other institute participants, and professional development activities. The summer institutes will take place during Summer of 2025, with follow-up events throughout the 2025-2026 academic year.

The WDTS RENEW Pathway Summer Institutes for Educators will join the existing DOE SC portfolio of research internships, summer schools, and fellowships for all educational levels, ranging from high school to established faculty. More information is available at the  Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists website.

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