ERC for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing

Teacher Program Introduces Science to Thousands of Students in Remote Areas

Knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and inspiring teachers play a key role in attracting middle and high school students to math, science, and engineering careers. The ERC for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing (EBSM) launched the Teachers Institute in 1997 to "teach the teachers," and secondarily, to organize outreach programs to precollege students in remote areas.

The EBSM center, based at the University of Arizona, offers both an in-depth multi-week teacher institute and a short summer conference for teachers at partner institutions Stanford University, the University of Arizona, and Arizona State University. At the Institute, teachers spend their summer months working with EBSM researchers and preparing innovative curricula in environmental areas. They work together to use the resources of the ERC and industry to develop new lessons and materials for their own classrooms.

In 2003, the EBSM center invited 22 teachers from among 70 applicants to participate. Through the summer of 2003, 119 precollege teachers in Arizona and California participated in the Institute's outreach programs. Out of that group, 58 teachers from 21 schools hailed from Palo Alto, California, and Phoenix, Tucson, Nogales, San Manuel, and Sierra Vista in Arizona. Several of the participating schools have a high minority population (particularly Hispanic), and several serve small rural communities.

The EBSM program has already had a strong, immediate impact on students in remote areas. Teachers who participated in the Institute developed 141 new lab and classroom exercises as a result of their summer research, reaching thousands of students.

To learn more about this topic:
Visit the ERC for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing Education page at http://www.erc.arizona.edu/Education/TeacherInst.htm.

Return to the previous page.

Participants at the ERC's Teachers Insitute develop
lab and classroom exercises that reach thousands of
students.

Learn More

Help with Searching

Contact the ERC Achievements Showcase Webmaster.

Last modified: February 18, 2005