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National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) programs provide opportunities for professional development for teachers. The goal of the RET site at North Dakota State University (NDSU), established in May 2020 (NSF Awards #1953102 and #2224135), was to increase the knowledge of secondary (6th to 12th grade) educators in the use of civil engineering to mitigate natural disasters and their ability to prepare their students to become leaders in STEM disciplines. The primary goal of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the professional development provided in preparing participants to teach STEM topics in their classrooms. The study utilized a mixed method approach and an external evaluator to present data on the responses to two online surveys and a self-interview conducted with the secondary educators in the Summer 2021 NDSU RET cohort. Three themes emerged: (1) difficulty with math, (2) lack of connection/examples, and (3) issues with open-endedness and time to get a response. Nearly all the teachers noted that experiments and simulations with data were helpful strategies in engaging their students in STEM topics. They found value in connecting these topics with real-world problems in the student’s lives. Teachers had increased knowledge about the research projects, real-world applications, and other ways to engage their students in STEM (specifically, civil engineering). Their knowledge was further increased by their interactions with other teachers in the RET program as well as through the presentations that the other teachers delivered during the summer activities. 

High school science and math classes can often seem irrelevant to the everyday lives ofstudents leading to difficulties in engaging students in these topics. Moreover, limitedopportunities for hands-on learning can further perpetuate perceptions of subject matter difficultyand result in limited exposure to available career paths. By incorporating hands-on curriculummodules in geotechnical engineering, it is possible to overcome these issues while providingstudents with real-world applications making the material more engaging and meaningful. Thispaper presents two curriculum modules developed as part of the National Science Foundation-funded Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) site at North Dakota State University. Thesemodules—one for a high school science class and one for a high school math class—weredeveloped with the aim of promoting science, technology, engineering, and mathematicseducation (STEM), while inspiring students to consider careers in geotechnical engineering. Thelessons are designed to align with the Next Generation Science Standards and include hands-onactivities along with real-world applications to enhance student understanding of the subjectmatter. The effectiveness of these modules was evaluated through formative and summativeassessment and student surveys. The results indicate that the modules can effectively engagestudents in geotechnical engineering by connecting the math and science concepts from theirclasses and increase their interest in STEM fields. These curriculum modules are a valuableresource for high school math and science teachers looking to integrate engineering into theirclasses. 

A new Research Experience for Teachers (RET) site was established in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at North Dakota State University (NDSU) with funding from the National Science Foundation Division of Engineering Education and Centers (NSF Award #1953102). The site focused on civil engineering instruction around the theme of mitigating natural disasters for secondary education (6th to 12th grade) teachers. Eight local teachers and one pre-service teacher (who comprised the first cohort) were provided with a six-week long authentic research experience during the summer, which they translated into a hands-on curriculum for their classrooms during the 2021-2022 academic year. Partnerships were developed between the host institution, area teachers and local partners from civil engineering industries. This paper will summarize the lessons learned by the authors as well as the effectiveness of the program activities to accomplish two objectives: (1) provide a deeper understanding of civil engineering and (2) develop better abilities among secondary education teachers to prepare future science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) leaders. Several strengths were identified by the authors as they reflected on the summer activities including the successes in creating strong connections between the teachers, faculty members and graduate students, and the industry partners as well as the agility of the core research team to overcome unexpected challenges. However, the reflections also revealed several areas for improvement that would increase the accessibility of the site to underserved and/or underrepresented teacher populations, better utilize the resources available and in general, improve the quality of the program and curriculum developed by the teachers. Included within this paper are suggestions that the authors would make to improve current and future RET sites. All of the teachers agreed or strongly agreed that their participation in the RET program increased their knowledge of STEM topics and specifically, civil engineering topics. The participants agreed to varying extents that they will use the information they learned from the program to teach their students and will implement the new strategies they gained to promote increased student learning about STEM topics. Furthermore, the feedback that they provided corroborated some of the same changes the authors plan to implement.