Past Projects
CNETC was funded by the state of Nevada's Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) initiative and the No Child Left Behind Act. It provided a unique opportunity to serve the students, parents and educators of central Nevada. Eight Nevada school districts--Churchill, Douglas, Esmeralda, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, Nye and Pershing--formed the consortium, each of which was served by two district teachers. The district teachers were given intensive instruction in technology integration in train-the-trainer workshops. Armed with this knowledge, the trainers themselves conducted free professional development workshops in their home districts for local teachers interested in technology education. CNETC provided technology integration instruction for central Nevada from 2003 to 2005.
The Nevada Seismological Laboratory was a research division within the College of Science at the ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ. The Laboratory had overall responsibility for instrumental studies of earthquakes in the Nevada region. The laboratory operates a statewide network of seismographic stations and investigates the sizes, frequencies of occurrence, and distribution of earthquakes in the region, and other problems related to seismic risk in Nevada.
Nevada Educators Really Doing Solar was a year-long program at the Raggio Research Center, funded by the EPSCoR Nexus grant. Teachers from the state of Nevada participate in the program which focuses on professional development in science teaching with research in education. The NERDS program was dedicated to helping teachers develop their skills in teaching science and solar energy through the process of inquiry.
NEESR, funded by the National Science Foundation, was an engineering-based program which focused on the seismic performances of nonstructural systems. This five-year grant allowed for the Civil Engineering department at the ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ to work with ten other universities and institutions from around the nation and helped fund the building of the NEES equipment site on the ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ campus. This shake table facility was used to test and conduct research on geotechnical and structural systems in regard to earthquake engineering. Due to the educational impact of the facility, it has been used not only for undergraduate and graduate research, but also for K-12 engineering programs and community outreach. The Raggio Research Center concentrated on K-12 outreach in partnering with the Dean's Future Scholars program to host a summer engineering camp.
Nevada KEEP was funded in a collaborative effort by the ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ's Deans of Education, Engineering and Science. The program hosted a series of seminars in the Raggio Research Center for local high school juniors and seniors who are interested in pursuing careers in the STEM disciplines. Local researchers, professors and industry professionals came to present, share their experiences and engage with students. The program ran from 2002 to 2007.
Nevada Institute on Educator Preparation, Retention and Research (NIEPRR)
Co-creating mentor-mentee relationships to support the development of inservice and preservice STEM teachers
Project abstract:
Preservice teachers engage in clinical experiences under the mentorship of in-service teachers. These experiences give preservice teachers opportunities to observe and apply the theories being learned in their coursework in classroom settings with learners. Among the obstacles with these clinical experiences is that mentor teachers are sometimes lacking in their knowledge and application of theories being practiced by the preservice teachers and how to best provide mentorship supports. This convergent mixed-method study engaged four undergraduate student researchers in following the learning of preservice teachers and their mentor teachers during a semester of the course “Project-Based Learning” to explore how the course and clinical experiences support the development of the preservice teacher and how professional learning and mentoring experience support the development of the in-service mentor teacher. Findings resulting from the study indicates increases in knowledge and applications of PBI for preservice teachers and mentor teachers and increases in confidence from the in-service teachers to serve as mentors in supporting preservice teachers.
The Nevada Pathway Project grew out of the Nevada Educational Technology Plan and statewide concern about student engagement and achievement. Participating teachers and administrators took part in a two-year professional development program, funded by Federal ARRA, focused on recognizing and addressing the needs of 21st-century students through the framework of the revised Nevada Educational Technology Standards. While the Nevada Pathway Project focused on teacher professional development, the Pathway Leadership Project was conceived to challenge and change administrator attitudes and behaviors regarding technology use. Participating administrators from all 17 Nevada counties were trained in the use of current technology.
The Newton Network is designed to serve the teachers of Nevada by providing opportunities and communication to which they might not otherwise have access.
The NNELI program was a National Professional Development grant program funded by the United States Department of Education. The grant was fully funded in May, 2012 by the Office of English Language Acquisition of the United States Department of Education. It was expected to continue for five years, with a total grant award of almost two million dollars ($1,935,167.) NNELI’s purpose was to improve instruction to English Learners (ELs) by providing professional development opportunities for pre-service and classroom teachers as well as paraprofessionals in Northern Nevada. The grant assisted with tuition for four classes leading to an ESL endorsement for pre-service teachers as well as 2 additional courses- one in Sheltered Instruction in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and the other in Academic Language in STEM. Classroom teachers also received graduate credit for taking the two STEM-related courses. The Northern Nevada English Learning Initiative (NNELI) also helped cover the costs of texts for NNELI courses.
Project Learning Links was funded by the Department of Education's Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) initiative and was led by a group of partner organizations: the University of Nevada, SBC Nevada, the Nevada Public Broadcasting Service, the Nevada Department of Education, Washoe County School District, Truckee Meadows Community College and the Northeast Nevada Technology Consortium. Project Learning Links sought to improve the technology proficiency of pre-service teachers by supporting change in the teacher education program to promote technology integration. Master Teachers in the were selected as consultants for their technological expertise and the program held seminars to promote faculty development in technology integration. Project Learning Links lasted from 2001 to 2003.
The Raggio Research Center for STEM Education was awarded a very competitive National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) grant entitled Project ReCharge. A collaboration between the ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ, the Washoe County School District (WCSD), and Envirolution, Project ReCharge engages teachers and students to interface with real-time data through innovative energy efficiency technologies and empowers them to make energy saving recommendations for their schools.
The Roadside Heritage program, a three-year grant funded by the National Science Foundation, was designed to capture the interest of scenic byway travelers and rural communities by revealing the wealth of STEM content inherent in rural landscapes, interpreted through the project's deliverables of audio stories, community festival kits of tabletop exhibits, youth enrichment classes, and an interactive website. While creating this unique opportunity for travelers, Roadside Heritage also extended its benefits to a rural population in Eastern California that has been underserved by informal science education. Youth and other residents from the byway communities contributed to the project as they played a central role in the interpretation of the region's contributions to scientific achievement.
Funded through the No Child Left Behind Act, the purpose of RST3 was to enhance technology integration in middle school science classrooms. Participants in the program's weekend professional development seminars were given a technology package for classroom and home use and were expected to use their training to develop two science units per semester with integrated technology and provide student data to the grant. RST3 was active from 2004 to 2005.
The STEM Career Investigation Program offered Washoe County high school students the opportunity to observe current scientific and engineering research being conducted by scientists and engineers from the ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ. In addition, students learned about research within STEM related businesses outside of the educational institution and within our community. The program, part of EPSCoR Nexus, was an excellent exposure for students to realize careers in many specialized areas of science and engineering. The program included a series of six seminars which were scheduled for February and March, 2015 at the Raggio Research Center for STEM education, ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ.
The TIES program, funded by the National Science Foundation, was a collaboration among the Raggio Research Center, the ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ College of Education, and Churchill, Clark and Douglas County School Districts. TIES offered middle school teachers the opportunity to learn and use engineering content and design to teach science units in their classrooms. Participants created web-based simulations of science concepts that served to introduce their students to a particular system of variables. Students performed the simulations, collected and analyzed the data, and designed, built and tested prototypes of the system based on their knowledge of the simulation. The TIES program was active from 2004 to 2006.
Project TITE-N, a grant through the Department of Education's Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) initiative, was a collaboration between the University of Nevada, the University of North Texas and Truckee Meadows Community College. TITE-N sought to further technology proficiency in pre-service teachers. Each year, the program selected Student Technology Integration Consultants (STICs) from the students in the College of Education. These STICs participated in an intensive three-week Summer Institute on classroom technology integration, received equipment to use during their time in the program, and agreed to complete their internships in technology-rich classrooms, preferably in rural Nevada school districts. TITE-N was active from 2004 to 2006.
The Earth as a Classroom was funded by the Nevada Collaborative Teaching Improvement Program (NeCoTIP) and was a collaboration between the Raggio Research Center and the Nevada Seismological Network. This course in teacher professional development engaged participants in the study of Earth Science with a focus on active tectonics, seismicity and related geology. Participants were taken on a six-day field experience to locations including Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Lakes, California. TEAC provided this professional development in Earth science from 2006 to 2007.
The NNEETTI program was intended to train grade 7-12 teachers in innovative energy efficiency technology content, which allowed them to engage students in authentic data access, manipulation, and analysis. Teachers and students alike were able to research energy phenomena in order to create energy saving solutions for their schools. Funding was provided by the Nevada Department of Education Math/Science Partnership Grant.
The Young Scientists' Lab was a partnership between the Raggio Research Center and Washoe County School District designed to provide hands-on science education to students in grades 3-5. Classes were brought to the Raggio Center and organized into small groups. The groups rotated through several lab stations, which explained and provided hands-on learning in topics including gravity, electricity, communications media and sensory organs. The Young Scientists' Lab expanded science education for Washoe County elementary students from 2003 to 2007.