FAQs
The summer institute for 2024 is planned to be organized between (June 12th – July 17th). Full agenda is going to posted soon under the summer institute tab of our website.
Yes, this is a requirement from the National Science Foundation, the funding agency that is sponsoring this project. However, few emergency exception can be granted and we’ll work with you to ensure that you are successful in the program.
The research training will provide participants invaluable experience in cutting-edge computer science areas (especially in cybersecurity and data science) through project-based learning. By the end of the program, the teachers will have had hands-on experience on specific projects with support from UTEP Computer Science Faculty mentors. They will also develop a curricular module or a series of thematic activities for their classroom that will be delivered to their students during the following spring session. The UTEP mentors and PI team will continuously assist in developing the curricular module, even after the end of the summer program.
The CREEDS program primarily targets teachers who will be able to implement / deliver their educational modules in the spring following their summer program to students in middle or high school. As a result, the program is not only for teachers currently teaching in middle or high school: if you are a teacher who is planning a transition to middle or high school by the spring following your summer program, please consider applying. Moreover, delivery of educational projects to students does not need to be in a classroom setting, so if you are a teacher in elementary school who supervises, e.g., a club for middle schoolers, you should consider applying too. When it comes to core disciplines that participants should be involved in at their schools, which disciplines are we looking for? Easily, areas directly related tech are of course one of our focus areas. However, we are also considering areas such as social sciences, psychology, math, as they are also directly impacted or are relevant to inform and help understand technology (in particular in the areas of CREEDS: cybersecurity, data science, and AI).
Once the screening process is completed, the selected participants will be asked to rank their favorite 2 project areas out of 3. During the kick-off meeting and through the first week of the program, the participants will have a chance to get to know each other as well as the PI team, and will finally be assigned a project and a team by the end of first week. The projects are team-based, and each team will consist of 2-3 teachers.