Quick look
A summer training program at Iowa State University embeds K-12 educators and education students in research projects, an intense immersion in innovative science designed to help teachers enhance STEM instruction in their own classrooms.
AMES, Iowa - A few years ago, Nicole Valenzuela was talking to a group of third and fourth graders in Ankeny about turtles, the focus of her research as an evolutionary biologist.
Some of the students in the classroom were recent arrivals still learning English, so Valenzuela helped translate on the fly to make sure they were following along. It was an eye-opening moment for one of the new students, who was so excited she was nearly jumping out of her seat.
"She told me, 'I've never seen a person who speaks Spanish like me who does science!'" said Valenzuela, a professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology at Iowa State University. "So now when she grows up, maybe she'll consider a career in science."
The exchange Valenzuela recalls fondly sprang from an annual program at Iowa State that embeds K-12 educators and education students in research projects during the summer. The experience provides teachers a chance to get hands-on with science to enhance STEM instruction in their own classrooms, and it helps ISU researchers extend their impact.
"To have a teacher inspired by the work they did in the summer is a big deal for getting students excited about science. And being exposed to how scientists work is a great way to get kids interested in what Iowa State does," said Maureen Griffin, a program coordinator in ISU's Office of Biotechnology who oversees the teacher-training program.
A focus on teachers
The initiative is largely funded by individual federal research projects and grants from the federal Research Experience for Teachers (RET) and Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) programs. While many research universities host RET and REU programs - including separate REUs at Iowa State this summer in mathematics, emerging interface technologies, and biological materials and processes - ISU's combined program for both teachers and future teachers is rare. It's also rare to have a full-time coordinator for RET and REU activities, Griffin said.
"I'm pretty sure we're the only one, and that's a real coup for the university," she said.
RET and REU participants spend four days of their week working with their research study team, under the guidance of faculty and graduate students. On Fridays, the whole group - for this year, 16 teachers and eight education students - gathers for community-building and professional development activities, including guest speakers who are experts on science education. Program participants are provided a stipend, campus housing or commuting reimbursement, and a grant to use in their classroom.
"There's a lot that piles up on teachers over time, and this is like a respite," Griffin said. "They get paid to be together and learn with research teams at a leading research university. That takes federal investment, engaged state institutions and interested teachers who aren't done when the school year is through."
By the end of the program - six weeks for RET, nine weeks for REU - the teachers create a plan for applying what they learned in the lab in the summer to what they'll teach in the classroom in the fall. Teachers then meet regularly with Griffin for video call coaching sessions during the following school year, convene as a group for two virtual learning days and keep in contact with their research teams. Partnering faculty often will visit or meet virtually with participating teachers' classes, as Valenzuela did.
"This isn't a one-off. The whole goal is to keep them connected throughout the year," Griffin said.
From lab to classroom
While RET and REU participants come from across the U.S., the majority are from Iowa schools. It's common for teachers to return for multiple years and to convince co-workers to apply.
Johnston High School science teacher Jared Martinsen took part for three consecutive years, culminating in 2024 when he was one of three Johnston instructors in the program. He appreciated the collaborative culture of the cohorts and found valuable takeaways from the research. Last summer, Martinsen studied the spread of antibiotic-resistant genes in natural waterways with professor Chris Rehmann and associate professor Kaoru Ikuma in civil, construction and environmental engineering. Learning to use sophisticated analytical tools for that project paved the way for adding a mathematical modeling component to the "biobottle" terrarium unit in his biology classes.
"The research is really, truly rich science. That has definitely helped my teaching, and I'd recommend the program to any STEM teacher anywhere," he said.
Tricia Chapela, a high school science teacher from the Houston area, has returned for a second year this summer to partner with chemistry professor Young Jin Lee, who is studying a biological method for remediating toxic forever chemicals. The work has reinforced for her that learning is doing and given her ideas for using duckweed, the plant Lee's team is studying, in experimental activities in her own classroom.
Most RET participants come from middle schools or high schools, but the program has hosted numerous elementary teachers. Grace Mullins graduated in May with a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Iowa State, and she's back for her fourth straight year this summer - the first three in the REU group, this summer with RET. Her research experiences have focused her on ensuring learning is authentic, even for younger students.
"Worksheets can be important, but students need to learn in a way that makes sense for them," she said.
Amy Jurasek was embedded last summer with RegenPGC, a five-year, $10 million project exploring the integration of perennial cover crops between the rows of annual cash crops. Jurasek, a former actuary who teaches math at Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines, worked on an experiment studying how far apart to plant corn and cover crops. Measuring corn plants in the July heat was grueling, but it helped highlight how math is around every corner ad spurred her to imbue lessons with real-life examples.
"There is room for 'story' in the math classroom," she said.
Impact for researchers
RegenPGC project director Raj Raman has long supported efforts to invite those with little or no background in scientific discovery to join research projects. Within arm's reach of his office desk is a folder with letters from thankful former undergraduate researchers, and he once co-authored an academic study outlining best practices for summer REU programs.
"I think this is some of the highest-impact work we do," Raman said. "REUs and RETs offer an incredible opportunity for researchers to have a broader impact in society."
For many researchers, adding outside perspective also can improve their work directly. About 30 ISU faculty have opened their labs and projects to RET and REU teachers in recent years, and those partners often say they see better research outcomes, said Eric Hall, a program coordinator in the biotechnology office who assists Griffin with the teacher-training programs.
"There's definitely mutual value," Hall said.
The upside for research teams isn't just an extra set of hands and a jolt of energy. It can be clarifying and useful to translate dense scientific knowledge into a more digestible form. That's the main thing Lee has appreciated about his team's collaboration with Chapela.
"We really benefit from learning how to communicate in plain language," he said.
