Assessment of a Collaborative NSF RET Program Focused on Advanced Manufacturing and Materials

Manufacturing is a key pillar to economic vitality and growth in the United States (US). However, the US faces increasing competition in the area of manufacturing from across the globe. As such, the future of the US’s role in manufacturing requires innovation, cutting-edge and sustainable technologies, and new materials. Furthermore, this new era of manufacturing will require a well-educated and well-prepared STEM workforce. Since the task of inspiring and preparing K-12 students in STEM falls largely on K-12 teachers, it is critical that the teachers understand the role of materials and manufacturing in the US and are provided with the tools and knowledge that will empower them to get children excited about STEM as well as careers in materials and advanced manufacturing. The main objective of the Collaborative Research Experience for Teachers Program entitled Inspiring The Next Generation of a Highly-Skilled Workforce in Advanced Manufacturing and Materials was to provide current and future middle and high school teachers with the skills required to successfully engage their students in STEM learning experiences by immersing these teachers in real-world engineering research that was thematically centered around materials and advanced manufacturing. This collaborative RET site placed teachers and pre-service teachers with research mentors at one of three regional universities to work on engineering research projects that connect with regional strengths in advanced manufacturing and materials. Participating teachers and pre-service teachers joined other professionals in the region in an immersive materials “boot camp” facilitated by ASM prior to the start of their research experience. Field trips, guest speakers and group work that produced K-12 curriculum complemented the teams’ research experience. During the culminating activities, the groups presented the STEM curriculum developed, the final laboratory project results and provided regular guided reflections regarding their efforts during the six-week program. Local System Change (LSC), Mathematics Teaching Efficacy and Beliefs Instrument (MTEBI) and Science Teaching Efficacy and Beliefs Instrument (STEBI) surveys were administered to identify changes in attitudes, beliefs and practices. Results of the evaluation suggest that this collaborative RET program was successful at meeting a majority of its nine objectives. Evaluation data shows that there was no significant changes at the 0.05 level in the teachers’ responses to the MTEBI or STEBI. For the LSC, teacher responses were significantly higher at the 0.01 level for attitudes towards teaching. Feedback obtained from the teachers will be used to modify the program for the next cohort. Introduction A 2010 report for the National Association of Manufacturers and the NAM Council of Manufacturing Associations states, “America’s manufacturing innovation process is vital to promoting economic growth, productivity gains and increases in our standard of living.” The authors go on to explain that, “An increment to manufacturing production in the U.S. creates more economic activity both within and outside the sector than does a similar increment in any other major sector. Historically, manufacturing’s innovations and investment raised its productivity faster than other large sectors and its productivity has added substantially to overall U.S. productivity.” 1 Similarly, in an article published in Time Business and Money Magazine (2013), the authors report, “The new economics of Made in the USA are built in large part around acquiring cutting-edge technologies ahead of global competitors and then using those new techniques to produce more efficiently on super-automated factory floors.” It is strongly believed that manufacturing will once again become a local industry as the products will be manufactured near raw materials or markets. Furthermore, future global dominance in manufacturing will depend upon the development and adoption of cutting-edge manufacturing technologies including robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), 3D printing, and nanotechnology. There is a tremendous push from both federal and industrial entities to speed up the maturation of manufacturing technology. New institutes such as the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII), now called America Makes, located in Youngstown, Ohio, have been created from federal initiatives in an effort to reinvigorate the US manufacturing industry and jobs market and to promote innovation and collaboration in cutting-edge manufacturing technologies. Additionally, federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) are sponsoring workshops and forums such as the NSF Workshop on Future Research Needs in Advanced Manufacturing and the NSF Workshop on Additive Manufacturing to discuss issues and developments associated with manufacturing. To complement this new era of manufacturing, engineers and scientists are also developing new types of materials that are compatible with the manufacturing techniques and are stronger, lighter, more energy-efficient, and more durable than currently available materials. As such, the future of the US’ role in manufacturing is highly dependent on innovation in materials and manufacturing as well as the adoption of advanced and sustainable manufacturing technologies. This new era of manufacturing will require a well-educated and well prepared STEM workforce. Unfortunately, the US will not be able to meet these workforce goals unless we are able to broaden participation by inspiring our youth to pursue STEM disciplines. The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) states in a 2012 report, “If the United States is to maintain its leadership in manufacturing — a sector that contributes greatly to the health of the overall economy...the crisis in STEM and manufacturing education must be corrected.” Since the task of inspiring and preparing K-12 students in STEM falls largely on K-12 teachers, it is critical that teachers are provided with the tools and knowledge to accomplish this task. Unfortunately, most K-12 teachers have little understanding about materials and the role they play in society. Furthermore, many people have significant misconceptions about manufacturing in the US. In a 2008 report summarizing the outcomes of The Workshop on Materials Science and Materials Engineering Education sponsored by the NSF, recommendations were made that include providing training and professional development for K-12 teachers to help them better understand materials concepts and applications, modifying existing teacher training programs to include information about materials and manufacturing careers and developing outreach tools for students that demonstrate the critical role that materials and manufacturing play in modern society. Ohio was particularly hard hit by the Great Recession and this was due in part to its reliance on manufacturing. About 34% of the approximately 117,000 jobs lost in Ohio between 2007 and 2011 were in the manufacturing sector. Despite this, according to Economic Analyst, George Zeller, “Manufacturing is driving the Ohio recovery, particularly since we have such an intense concentration [of jobs in the sector]. Manufacturing is not only important for its high-wage jobs for Ohio workers, but it is also extremely important because of its large ripple effect on the rest of the economy.” In particular, the Dayton Region has a long history of engineering innovation in manufacturing and also serves as the home to organizations that are heavily invested in materials and manufacturing research. Among these is The Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Materials and Manufacturing Directorate located at Wright-Patterson Air Force base which develops materials, processes, and advanced manufacturing technologies. Additionally, the Dayton Region is one of the largest tooling, machining and material processing centers in the U.S and manufacturing contributes to more than 14 % of the Region’s workforce. Additionally, advanced manufacturing and materials has been identified by top governmental officials as well as academic institutions and centers as being a key regional cluster. 24 The importance of these regional clusters cannot be underemphasized. The US Department of Commerce states, “Regional clusters can be thought of as an ‘innovation ecosystem’ that ‘is made up of communities of people with different types of expertise and skill sets.” As such, the Dayton Region is particularly interested in growing its STEM workforce and inspiring K-12 students to consider careers in materials and advanced manufacturing. In 2014, three universities in the Dayton Region, Central State University (CSU), University of Dayton (UD) and Wright State University (WSU), received a grant from the NSF to provide research opportunities to K-12 teachers through a Research Experience for Teachers (RET) award. The overarching goals of the NSF RET program are to develop long-term, collaborative relationships with K-12 teachers and university faculty, involve K-12 teachers in engineering research and help teachers translate this research into classroom activities. In addition to these overarching goals, the main objective of this project entitled: Inspiring The Next Generation of a Highly-Skilled Workforce in Advanced Manufacturing and Materials was to provide current and future middle and high school (G6-12) teachers with the skills required to successfully engage their students in STEM learning experiences by immersing these teachers in real-world engineering research thematically centered around materials and advanced manufacturing. By training teachers through this research experience, it is hoped that the participating teachers will be better equipped with knowledge, skills, curriculum and resources to affect broad-scale change in instructional practices linked to advanced manufacturing and materials and 21st century STEM skil