AC 2010-151: THE NIST SUMMER INSTITUTE FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL

SCIENCE TEACHERS: TRANSLATING NIST RESEARCH INTO ACTIVITIES

FOR THE MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASSROOM

Mary Satterfield, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Susan Heller-Zeisler, National Institute of Standards and Technology

© American Society for Engineering Education, 2010 
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The NIST Summer Institute for 

Middle School Science Teachers: 

Translating NIST Research into Activities 

for the Middle School Classroom 

Abstract

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Summer Institute for Middle School 

Science Teachers, a collaboration between NIST and local school districts, is a two-week 

workshop designed to support middle school science teachers through a combination of hands-on 

activities, lectures, tours, and visits with scientists and engineers in their laboratories. 

Throughout the workshop teachers are provided with in-depth material on topics in the middle 

school curriculum taught by NIST scientists and also provided resources and instructional tools 

to teach that material in the classroom. 

The NIST Summer Institute is designed to increase the teachers’ understanding of the subjects 

they teach, provide materials and resources to implement what they have learned at NIST in the 

classroom, rekindle their enthusiasm for science, and provide a network of scientists and 

engineers at NIST available for consultation. Teachers finish the NIST Summer Institute with a 

wealth of knowledge about core topics such as forensics and materials science, and materials to 

integrate these topics into their existing curriculum. 

To introduce them to scientific research teachers are given the opportunity to spend an hour each 

week one-on-one with a scientist or engineer in his/her lab, learning about research and 

conversing about topics of interest. Undergraduate fellows doing research at NIST are also 

incorporated into the NIST Summer Institute, and are available for one-on-one visits and as 

members of a panel discussion on middle school science education. The undergraduates are 

questioned about their middle school science experiences, and for suggestions on ways to 

encourage interest in science, technology, engineering, and math(STEM) careers. Other informal 

occasions are made available for NIST scientists and engineers, undergraduate research fellows, 

and NIST Summer Institute teachers to meet and socialize with the goal of building networks for 

future interactions. 
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Teacher participants in the NISTSummer Institute are invited back to NIST during the school 

year for ‘Science Afternoons at NIST’ where the focus is on one chosen topic with an interactive 

seminar and activities. Previous Science Afternoons have focused on such topics as designing 

buildings to resist earthquakes, weather, and nanomagnetism. As during the NIST Summer 

Institute, teachers leave the Science Afternoons with a wealth of information about the focus 

topic and materials and resources for teaching the topic and leading activities in the classroom. 

In compliance with the Academic Competitiveness Council’s requirements for assessment the 

Summer Institute is judged by an independent contractor with pre-workshop surveys, follow-up 

focus group interviews, classroom observations, and surveys over the year following workshop 

participation. Teachers have been enthusiastic about the quality of the workshop and the support 

from NIST available for their educational endeavors. Their input has been used to make 

modifications each year so that teachers get as much as possible out of the workshop. 

While not a teaching institution but a research institute focused on meeting the measurement 

science needs of the nation, NIST has a wealth of resources for the education community. The 

NIST Summer Institute for Middle School Science Teachers is one way of sharing these 

resources and building partnerships between local middle school teachers and NIST scientists. 

Introduction and Background

As a non-regulatory agency of the Department ofCommerce, NIST promotes U.S. economic 

growth by working with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements and 

standards.Located in Gaithersburg, MD, a suburb of Washington, D.C.,NIST scientists conduct 

research in a wide variety of the physical and engineering sciences. NIST has laboratories in 

chemistry, physics, electronics and electrical engineering, building and fire research, 

manufacturing engineering, materials science and engineering, information technology, and 

neutron research. The work NIST does by providing measurement methods, tools, data, and 

technology underpins innovative technological advances throughout all scientific endeavors. 
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As a scientific research institution, NIST is dependent on a supply of well-educated scientists, 

engineers, and mathematicians. A recent report from the National Academy of Sciences, Rising 

above the Gathering Storm, noted the declining numbers of American students pursuing STEM 

careers, and the urgent need to reverse this trend, if a subsequent drop in U.S. economic 

development is to be averted.1 Additionally, a report by the Academic Competitiveness Council 

details goals and metrics for encouraging more American students to study STEM careers.2 

The NIST Summer Institute for Middle School Science Teachers evolved from an idea of Dr. 

HratchSemerjian, former NIST Chief Scientist, who wanted to support local educators by sharing 

NIST resources as a means to encourage more students to pursue STEM careers. Semerjian 

envisioned a program aimed at middle school teachers as key in contributing to a pipeline of 

students that might eventually work at NIST or other research laboratories. For the greatest 

impact Semerjian chose to focus on teachers since they can be a critical factor in encouraging 

their students to pursue STEM careers, and have a potentially significant impact on ~150 

students daily. 

Since the program began it became apparent to us that many middle school science teachers do 

not have degrees in science and may have been trained as elementary teachers, thus are eager to 

improve and extend their scientific knowledge and understanding. NIST scientists and engineers, 

as members of the community they live in, are usually eager to participate in educational 

outreach activities and welcome the opportunity to share what they do in a meaningful way with 

local educators. 

Components of the NIST Summer Institute

The NIST Summer Institute is designed to support teachers in teaching science and math at the 

middle school level. Initially, a study of the middle school curriculum, both Maryland state and 

local school districts, grades 6-8 was carried out, looking in particular for topics that overlap 

with research in progress at NIST. NIST, although historically a physical science research 

institute that focuses on measurement science and technology related to physics, chemistry, and 

associated engineering and mathematics, is increasingly also involved in research involving 
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biology and biotechnology related fields. This wide range of research provides multiple 

opportunities for overlap with the middle school curriculum, including forensics, chemical 

reactions, materials science, magnetism, and earthquakes, as shown in Figure 1,the 2009 

schedule. 

When considering the topics to be taught in the NIST Summer Institute, the focus and purpose of 

NIST is also kept in mind. NIST, as the premier U.S. measurement science, or metrology, 

research laboratory has much to teach regarding the role of measurement science and its 

importance. The NIST Summer Institute begins with an overview of NIST and a focus on 

metrology and its importance in everyday life. These lessons include tours of the NIST museum 

with exhibits of NIST work in the hundred years of its existence and replicas of original 

SystèmeInternational (SI)units such as a meter stick and a kilogram. Teachers are also given a 

‘NIST in Your Community’ tour in which they are introduced to the all-encompassing use of 

NIST measurement science in their everyday lives, from the food they eat, to telling time, to 

visits to the doctor. The afternoon of the first day is spent in part with NIST statisticians and an 

activity designed to teach the unfamiliar concept of measurement uncertainty. “Which 

measurement is correct?” teachers are asked, and “How do you know?” Throughout the 

following days the critical importance of measurement science is returned to over and over, as 

teachers learn about various aspects of research and metrological challenges across NIST. 

The NIST Summer Institute is designed to support middle school science teachers by improving 

teachers’ content knowledge. NIST scientists and engineers, who are experts in their field, are 

brought in to teach and update the teachers on the latest developments and technology. They

share how the research is conducted in the real world and the results utilized to bring 

improvements. The key to success in this component is finding NIST staff that can teach in an 

engaging and understandable way at or slightly above the level of the teachers. Usually these 

scientists self-select in that they often are involved in other NIST educational outreach activities 

such as ‘Adventures in Science’ or ‘Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day’. When 

approached to participate in the NIST Summer Institute most are very willing to be involved and 

already have an idea of what to do and just need guidance on the material of interest. The 

lectures are designed to be interactive and often are, but the interactivity depends on the 
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personality of the scientist, the material being taught, and the comfort level of the teachers; as the 

workshop progresses through its two weeks the level of interactivity typically increases. A backand-forth exchange between the teachers and the scientists is encouraged both to increase the 

understanding of the teachers and to increase the understanding of the scientist as to the 

background, understanding, and interest of the teachers. As any good teacher knows, one 

becomes a better teacher through the act of teaching, and though interacting with one’s students; 

scientists at NIST are no exception to this. 

Many of the scientists involved in the NIST Summer Institute also have designed or found 

activities and materials that correlate with the topic they teach. For example an engineer in 

NIST’s Building and Fire Research Laboratory who had been working with the ‘Take Our 

Daughters and Sons to Work’ program for several years was requested to teach about earthquake 

resistant buildings to the teachers, initially at a ‘Science Afternoon at NIST’ follow up to the 

NIST Summer Institute. The staff member had designed and had built a series of props that were 

a very effective part of his presentation. Although the props could not be classified as activities

that students could be directly involved in, their use made for a more effective presentation of 

fundamental aspects of earthquake propagation including resonance, wave motion, and the buildup of energy as tectonic plates shift. In a twist on the use of hands-on activities, after the lecture 

was given using these props, the teachers were provided the opportunity to build these props for 

themselves, and encouraged to practice their use. See Figure 2 for a picture of a teacher leaving 

for the day with her arms full of props she has just completed building. 

A side note: since the NIST Summer Institute is open to all middle school teachers and 

earthquakes are typically taught in only one grade, there was initial concern that many of the 

teachers in the Institute would find the topic and materials on earthquakes of little use. Not so, 

the teachers said. In some cases, such as the reverse pendulum model, the materials would be 

useful in teaching wave motion, a topic taught in other grades, and the principles taught as 

applied to buildings could be extrapolated to other topics such as light and the motion of 

molecules. Additionally, many teachers realize that with curriculum changes and shifts of 

teachers from teaching one grade to another grade that they may be teaching about earthquakes 

at some point, even if they are not presently. Another alternative implemented by teachers has 
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been to share the material and props with others at the school that may be teaching that particular 

topic. All of these possibilities fulfill the goal of seeing the materials from NIST in use in the 

classroom, inspiring students to pursue STEM careers. 

In some cases NIST Summer Institute staff design or discover teaching tools for hands-on 

exploration of the subject, and work with the NIST scientists who are the subject experts to 

incorporate them in the Institute. For example, in the day spent on forensics one element is a visit 

to a lab involved in human identification through the use of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) short 

tandem repeats. Development of NIST Standard Reference Materials, and standard protocols for 

human identification has made possible close to unequivocal identification of humans in 

paternity cases to criminal cases to identification of the September 11, 2001 victims. During the 

lab visits and lecture, emphasis is placed on the foundation of measurement science that makes 

these identifications possible. In the lab tour and demonstration the NIST scientist explains how 

DNA is used for identification and does a demonstration electrophoresis using a ‘flash gel’ that 

separates DNA in seven minutes, literally as the audience watches. Seeing the separation right 

before ones eyes is a powerful lesson that is expanded upon by the lecture, and then by the 

opportunity the teachers have to carry out electrophoresis on their own. 

Back in the classroom, teachers are introduced to the extraction of DNA from a strawberry using 

easily available components including detergent, salt, funnels, and test tubes, and then separation 

of the DNA by the same technique just observed in the lab but modified for use in a middle 

school classroom. In an activity that all the teachers can participate in both as a learning 

experience and as practice for leading the activity in the classroom, electrophoresis kits from a 

biology educational supplier that are safe and effective for teaching about DNA separation are 

used. Typically in the group of workshop participants one or two of the teachers have previous

experience with electrophoresis and are willing to lead the others in the activity, sharing their 

understanding and technique. 

In conjunction with its name and mission, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 

the NIST Summer Institute includes a significant advanced technology component through the 

utilization of an interface and sensors. As most teachers have experienced, the purpose of some 
7

experiments is obscured by the difficulty of making accurate measurements using the tools 

available. As a case in point, if students are using thermometers and have difficulty reading the 

meniscus, valuable data and learning opportunities may be lost, and the lesson, for example that 

the addition of salt to water decreases the freezing point of a solution, may be masked by 

measurement error. The use of interfaces such as the VernierLabQuest makes possible easy, 

quick measurements and data analysis enabling discovery of what is intended. The NIST 

Summer Institute provides to each teacher a LabQuest and sensors for measuring temperature, 

magnetic field strength, pH, motion, force, gas pressure, heart rate, and electrical conductivity. 

The LabQuest is currently integrated into several of the NIST Summer Institute activities 

including thermometry and diffraction and there is an ongoing effort to encourage scientists to 

develop activities using the LabQuest and probes, with loans made to scientists for this purpose. 

Scientists are eager to investigate use of the LabQuest and probes for their own edification and 

also because as befits people in their career field they enjoy learning new things. The NIST 

scientists and engineers who participate in the NIST Summer Institute are also eager to share 

how they do their research with the teachers, and a call goes out every spring for volunteers to 

meet with the teachers one-on-one and explain how their research is accomplished. Scientists 

who participate in the hour-long one-on-one visits with a teacher spend the time showing off 

their lab, going over the story of their career at NIST, and/or discussing scientific endeavors of 

interest to both the teacher and the scientist. The goal for this time together is set as an 

opportunity for the teachers to see how scientific research is done. Although some of the middle 

school science teachers have science degrees, few have ever done research or even been in a 

research lab. The tours and the visits with the scientists are designed to provide a window into 

scientific research as performed at NIST. 

To a middle school teacher some of the NIST scientists, most with PhDs and as experts in their 

fields, can be quite intimidating. Not so the interactions with the undergraduate students whose 

time at NIST overlaps with the NIST Summer Institute. The NIST Summer Undergraduate 

Research Fellows, or SURF students, are at NIST for 11 weeks during the summer performing 

research with NIST scientists that culminates with a symposium and presentations of their work 

in early August each year. Since the SURF students are relatively close in age to the students of 
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the teachers, they area valuable resource as to what worked and what did not to encourage them 

to study science and engineering. Additionally, since SURF students are involved in research 

with NIST scientists they are often in the process of learning about how science is done and are 

readily able and willing to explain what they are learning. SURF students who volunteer to meet 

one-on-one with the teachers are usually easily able to explain their project, demonstrate some 

experiments, and show off their labs in ways some of the NIST scientists have long ago moved 

beyond. 

When NIST staff (i.e. scientists, engineers, mathematicians, statisticians, etc.) and SURF 

students volunteer to participate in the NIST Summer Institute one-on-one visits they are asked 

to provide a short biography and summary of their work at NIST. This information is compiled 

and provided to the teachers who make a selection of the top three staff they would like to visit 

with for an hour. Teachers are then matched with a NIST staff member or SURF student. Two 

opportunities for the scientist one-on-one visits are provided, one each week. Initially, the 

scientist visits were longer, and were originally envisioned as lasting a morning or afternoon, but 

based on feedback from both the staff participants and teachers the current length of about an 

hour seems to be just long enough but not too long. One outgrowth of the one-on-one visits with 

scientists has been the development of a Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program based 

on the expressed desires of some of the teachers to spend the summer doing research just like the 

SURF students. Although not yet implemented, NIST hopes to be able to provide a pilot RET 

program for teachers within the next couple of years. Such a program would enable local 

teachers to participate in NIST research, learning for themselves how research is carried out. 

SURF students are also asked if they would be interested in participating in a panel discussion on 

the middle school science experience. Volunteers come forward, often with particularly good or 

bad middle school science experiences that they want to share, and five are selected. During the 

panel discussion questions are raised regarding how to most effectively encourage students to 

continue their interest in science and to pursue STEM careers. While this group is self-selected, 

the SURF students being STEM majors in college, it is interesting and instructional to learn the 

impact of the educational system on the students. In many cases the role of teachers in middle 

school and/or high school were pivotal in encouraging the students to pursue STEM careers, 
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either out of the obvious interest of the teachers in the subject they teach or the way they teach 

that ignites the interest and curiosity of their students. The panel discussion is designed to 

encourage the teachers to consider the effect their teaching styles and habits have on their 

students and to inspire them to reach out to more students. 

To facilitate more scientist/engineer/SURF student/teacher interaction social events and 

opportunities for informal interactions are scheduled throughout the NIST Summer Institute in 

the belief that more quality interactions are the result of increased exposure with the final result 

being a network of relationships between NIST staff and the teachers. The teachers can call upon 

these relationships in future times of need, for example, for science fair project help, as a 

possible source of consumables such as liquid nitrogen, or for more in-depth information 

regarding a particular topic of interest. The goal is to create a dynamic and on-going structure 

that supports the middle school teachers throughout their school year. 

Each year the NIST Summer Institute has been modified to better meet teachers’ needs and to 

coordinate with new research at NIST. For example, the discovery of a collaboration between 

NIST and a local high school on the use of growing algae for biofuels led to the exploration of 

possible connections to the middle school curriculum. Subsequently, a unit on photosynthesis 

based on growing algae in a bioreactor and monitoring changes in carbon dioxide and oxygen 

levels with sensors was added to the Institute curriculum. The high school students were invited 

on the first Wednesday of the two-week workshop to teach the teachers about the biofuels

project and to get the teachers started in growing their own algae in a bioreactor. Over the next 

ten days of the NIST Summer Institute as the algae grew the teachers were able to monitor algal 

growth in their biochambers. This new addition to the NIST Summer Institute culminated in a 

tour of the biofuels labs at NIST and experiments converting oil to biodiesel in a simulation of 

how the students hope to someday convert the lipids extracted from algae to biodiesel. The tour 

and experiments were held on the last day of the NIST Summer Institute and all previous 

participants were invited to return and participate. Returning teachers were also given the 

materials, equipment, and information to carry out the algae growth and biofuels experiments at 

their home schools. 
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After the NIST Summer Institute ends and teachers return to their home schools, plans are made 

at NIST to invite the teachers back for Science Afternoons at NIST. All teachers who are past 

participants in the NIST Summer Institutes are invited so the attendees are a unique new mix of 

teachers, all of who can learn from each other. Science Afternoons have evolved to focus on a

single scientific topic, one that may not be of interest to all the teachers but may be of high 

interest to some. The afternoons run from 4:00PM-7:00PM with the first hour set aside for

arrival and teacher socializing and sharing. Teachers are encouraged to bring material they would 

like to share regarding the topic of the afternoon and time is provided for this forum. Having this 

time enables this unique mix of teachers to become acquainted and fosters new relationships and 

interactions. 

The format of the following two hours is similar to that of the NIST Summer Institute with an 

interactive lecture, demos, and activities. Past topics include earthquake proof buildings (the 

success of the topic as a Science Afternoon encouraged us to integrate the topic into the full 

Summer Institute the following year), weather and pressure, spectroscopy, and nanomagnetism. 

As an added incentive to attend teachers are often given new sensors for the LabQuest and/or 

materials and equipment to implement new activities and experiments in their classroom. For 

example, for the “weather and pressure” Science Afternoon teachers were given a barometer that 

interfaces with the LabQuest and did experiments measuring changes in barometric pressure as 

they ascended and descended the nine floors in the main administration building at NIST. 

Participation in the Science Afternoons at NIST are intended to foster relationships between 

NIST staff and teachers, expand upon teacher knowledge and understanding of one particular 

topic, and to boost excitement and enthusiasm about a particular scientific topic. Providing new 

experiences, new activities that can be easily implemented into the classroom, and interaction 

with fellow teachers intent on similar actions has proven successful for all involved. In addition, 

both the NIST Summer Institute itself and the follow up ‘Science Afternoons at NIST’ give the 

participating teachers the opportunity of building a network of contacts among the NIST 

scientists and engineers that can be used for future interactions. 

Assessment of the NIST Summer Institute 
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After the completion of the NIST Summer Institute, teachers return to their schools with 

increased knowledge about their subject matter, ideas for activities, materials, and equipment to 

implement these activities, and heightened enthusiasm about engineering and science. Based on 

their volunteered comments and on the evaluations of the workshop,teachers leave the Institute 

with increased enthusiasm about science and their teaching. Assessment of the effectiveness of 

the NIST Summer Instituteis an important component in assuring that we remain true to our 

purpose, and is carried out both informally throughout the two weeks of the workshop and 

formally by an independent contractor. Assessing the effectiveness of a workshop such as this is 

difficult and necessarily subjective. It has not been possible to have a control group for 

comparison, and many of the goals of the Institute such as increasing teacher enthusiasm for the 

science they teach, are difficult to quantitatively and objectively assess. That being said, efforts 

are made to assess what has been done and to learn from the results. 

Before the workshop begins a survey is sent inquiring about the teachers’ background, education, 

experience, grades taught, self-perceived needs, and scientific interests. This information is used 

as guidance to set the level of the Institute, and the need for focus on particular topics. Based on 

the different levels of the teacher participants, plans are made to encourage the more highly 

educated and experienced teachers to work with the less experienced teachers. For example, one 

summer several of the teachers came to the Institute with prior experience in gel electrophoresis 

and so were asked if they would be willing and interested in participating in the novice teachers’ 

exploration of the activity. One teacher was inspired to lead this experiment and used the 

opportunity to share his previous experiences, including invaluable teaching tips and possible 

pitfalls. He guided the participants in learning how to do electrophoresis and prepare them to 

teach electrophoresis on their own. Although it is usually not possible to find self-selected guides 

for most components of the Institute, efforts are continuously made to foster community among 

the teachers and to encourage them to learn from each other. Knowledge of the backgrounds of 

the teachers from surveys and from visiting with them and learning about other experiences they 

have had is used to enrich the workshop for all teachers by encouraging sharing and active 

participation by all, no matter their experience level or educational background. 
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 During each week of the NIST Summer Institute the teachers carry a single-page assessment 

with the names of all the activities, from lectures and lab tours to ice cream socials and visits 

with scientists one-on-one (see Figure 3 for a completed version from 2009). After each activity 

the teachers are encouraged to rate the activity in terms of usefulness to them, and make 

comments. These assessments are especially valuable in the follow up visits with the NIST 

scientists and presenters in which the presentations are reviewed and plans made for 

improvements. These assessments highlight one of the disadvantages of the Institute since the 

participants are from all three middle school grades, and what is of use to one teacher may not be 

of immediate use to another teacher. The subjectivity of the assessments is also evident when 

every teacher ranks a lecture by one of NIST Nobel prizewinners, a charismatic speaker with 

multiple demonstrations, on the cooling and trapping of atoms, with a “1”, or as very useful! 

This effect highlights the importance of presentation skills and points out thatthe evaluations in 

some aspects are “popularity contests,” and their acknowledged value is not always directly 

related to what is written. As for the popularity of the Nobel prizewinning speaker, the 

enthusiasm he inspired was well worth the time spent, even if the topic area was of little use to 

most of the teachers. Of course, since one of the goals of the NIST Summer Institute is to expand 

the understanding of the teachers about science in general high rankings on such esoteric topics 

are taken as success. 

During the two weeks of the NIST Summer Institute staff, from the independent assessment 

contractor attend several activities and make observations, designed to see how effective the 

presentations are and the level of engagement of the teachers. On the last day of the Institute the 

teachers are broken into focus groups by grade level and interviewed. These focus groups yield 

immediate feedback regarding aspects of the Institute that were very successful or less so, as 

judged by the teachers soon after participation. The focus groups also provide a forum for 

discussions centered on exploring ways to improve future NIST Summer Institutes and possible 

topics for return visits to NIST during the school year, the Science Afternoons at NIST. 

One topic that surfaced with some urgency this last summer, both from the weekly assessment 

sheet and the focus groups was the need for additional training with the LabQuest and sensors. 

Teachers are given time during the first week to explore the use of the LabQuest and to use it in 
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several different experiments of their choice but specific guided instruction had been minimal. In 

a happy coincidence several high school students who had been loaned LabQuests and oxygen 

and carbon dioxide sensors for the project involving the growth of algae for biofuel were 

available and enlisted as teachers during that first week. However, it quickly became evident that 

some of the teachers could have benefited from additional specific guided instruction. In future 

Summer Institutes more time will be devoted to teaching the basics of LabQuest use so that 

teachers are more familiar with it and its capabilities. As with any classroom the range of 

abilities with different concepts including advanced technology such as the LabQuest and 

sensors varies and continuing efforts are made to meet the needs of all the teachers. An 

additional way to meet this need may be to have a Science Afternoon at NIST focused 

specifically on the use of the LabQuest in the classroom, and to provide additional teacher 

training on its use perhaps matching proficient teachers with those who request guidance. 

In the year following their participation in the NIST Summer Institute several teachers are 

selected for classroom observation by contractor assessment staff. The observations are targeted 

at the use of NIST material or activities, chosen by the teachers. Topics observed in the past 

include chromatography and the metric system. From these observations, from casual 

conversations with the teachers, and from surveys of the teachers we have learned the 

importance of providing classroom-ready material, including activities, equipment, and 

consumables. Although some teachers are motivated and creative enough to modify the NIST 

activity write-ups for their own use, many teachers are too busy to make modifications and will 

only use the material if it is essentially ready to be used in the classroom. Since coming to this 

awareness,future Summer Institutes will benefit from modified materials and from taking 

advantage of modifications from previous teachers. This will necessarily be an on-going process 

due to the dynamic structure of the NIST Summer Institutewith the continuing incorporation of 

new material and modification of previously used material. 

All the assessments associated with the NIST Summer Institute for Middle School Science 

Teachers are viewed as opportunities for learning and improvement. Although the tools are 

imperfect and necessarily subjective, the variety used provides different forms and kinds of 

feedback, all of which is valuable and taken into account when planning future interactions. 
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Future Plans

During the past three years the NIST Summer Institute has evolved to a steady state of 

interactive lectures, activities translating NIST research into the classroom, tours of NIST labs, 

and visits with NIST researchers. Modifications such as changes in topics and format to include 

past participants have been made to enable greater impact and more overlap with teacher 

interests and needs; additional changes will be made as opportunities arise and the need is seen. 

Future changes envisioned include encouraging a dynamic learning community with on-going 

interactive access to NIST material through a NIST-supported social media portal such as a wiki 

that teachers could post activities, ask questions, and discuss concerns. This is not a new idea; a 

wiki was set up by one of the participants during the second year of the NIST Summer Institute 

and used by many participants for about six months. Innovativeand forward thinking will be 

required to maintain and motivate teachers, some of whom are adverse to the addition of what 

they see as a new claim on their time, on a future wiki. Another idea to pursue in a more

organized and focused way is the use of high school students to actively work with the program. 

Last year, the third year of the program, a high school volunteer took part in the Summer 

Institute as an honorary participant, office assistant, and direct partner in the program, taking part 

in the activities alongside the teachers. Gradually, she took on more duties including writing help 

pages for the LabQuest and sensors, and eventually designed a slide show highlighting teacher 

activities during the two weeks. The incorporation of students as resources, especially for 

teaching the use of technology, is envisioned to increase the teacher comfort level with the 

LabQuest while providing more one-on-one training. Remaining true to the purpose of the NIST 

Summer Institute will enable future changes as yet unseen but sure to make improvements and 

have an impact. 

Conclusion

While not a teaching institution but a research institute focused on meeting the measurement 

science needs of the nation, NIST has a wealth of resources for the education community. The 
15

NIST Summer Institute for Middle School Science Teachers is one way of sharing these 

resources and building partnerships between local middle school teachers and NIST scientists. 

The NIST Summer Institute provides an opportunity for NIST staff to reach out to the local 

educational community, educational outreach, yes, but more than that: a chance for NIST to give 

back to the community that includes the families of the NIST staff. Begun with the original goal 

of increasing the pool of NIST scientists and engineers through encouraging student interest in 

STEM careers, the NIST Summer Institute has become an occasion for two-way interactions 

between the local educational community and NIST. NISTstaff learn more about middle school 

education and educational needs and how to foster student interest in STEM careers, and those in 

the educational establishment take advantage of the vast wealth of scientific and engineering 

resources at NIST to improve their teaching and inspire future generations of American scientists 

and engineers. The NIST Summer Institute provides a bridge between the cutting edge research 

done at NIST and the local educational community bringing two disparate communities together 

with the goal of supporting middle school science and math teachers. 

NIST Disclaimer: Certain commercial equipment, instruments, or materials are identified in this 

paper to specify the experimental procedures adequately. Such identification is not intended to 

imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

(NIST), nor is it intended to imply that the materials or equipment identified are necessarily the 

best available for the purpose. 

References

1. Committee on Prospering in the Global Economy of the 21st Century: An Agenda for American Science 

and Technology, National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine 

(2007) Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic 

Future. The National Academies Press. http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11463#toc. Accessed 2 

Jan 2010 

2. U.S. Department of Education (2007) Report of the Academic Competitiveness Council. 

http://www.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/competitiveness/acc-mathscience/report.pdf.Accessed 2 Jan 2010 
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date/ time Monday, July 6 Tuesday, July 7 Wednesday, July 8 Thursday, July 9 Friday, July 10 Monday, July 13 Tuesday, July 14 Wednesday, July 15 Thursday, July 16 Friday, July 17

9-10

10-11

Orientation 

-NIST Overview 

(9-9:45) 

Workshop 

Overview

-Who we are as a 

group 

-Safety/Ethics 

(9:45-10:45)

11-12

NIST in Your 

Community/

Museum Tour

(11-12N, 

alternating)

Metrology 2: -Metrics Jeopardy

(101/B11, 9:05-

10:15) -Weights and 

Measures 

 Overview -Activities(10:30-12) 

*LabQuests, 

probes, lab 

manuals, software 

distributed

 9-9:30 

-goals of day: try 

out LabQuests and 

sensors using 

MiddleSchool Lab 

Manual

(9-12) 

Bioreactor Set-Up

11AM 

Visit to SEBA, NIST 

Store 

11:55

Separations 2: 

Solving Crimes 

with Science

-Lecture 

(9-10) -Forensic Science 

Classroom 

Experiments

(10-11) -DNA Extraction 

Activity

(11-12) 

Materials Science:

-pH of Water

(9-10:30) 

-Cement Activity 

(11-12)

Separations 3: 

The NIST Center 

for Neutron 

Research (NCNR)

Production of 

Neutrons

Crystal Growth 

Lab

Tour Part I 

(9-12) 

Building 

Science:

Designing 

Bldgs to Resist 

Earthquakes

(9-11:45) 

Picture under 

Newton Apple 

Tree

11:45

Metrology 4:

Thermometry

Lecture 

(9:15-9:45) 

Thermometry 

activities 

(9:45-10:45) 

Bring LabQuests, 

thermometer and 

conductivity probes

Tour of Million 

Pound Force 

Machine 

(11-11:45)

Materials Sci 

2/ Engineering: 

Walking Tour 

of WTC 

Structural Steel

(9-10)

Experiment 

Design

(10:15-12N)

All SI 

participants, 

current and past, 

invited

Separations 4: 

Bioreactors

(9-10) 

Tour of 

Bioreactor 

Project

(10:15-11) 

Westat 

Evaluation 

(11-11:45) 

Lunch Lunch Lunch/Farmers Mkt Lunch Lunch with SURF students/West Wing Lunch Lunch with SURF students at NCNR Lunch with NIST folks/West Wing Lunch Lunch Group lunch out

1-22-33-4

 Metrology 1: 

Measurement 

Uncertainty 

How Big is Pi? 

(1-2:30) 

Summer Institute 

Wiki, Twittering, 

Facebook

(3-4)

Separations 1: 

Spectrometry 

Lecture and Activity

(1-3) 

Tour of NIST High 

Accuracy 

Spectrometer

(3:15-4) 

 Sharing of labs 

tested in the 

morning 

(1-2:45) 

Physics: 

Aerodynamics of 

Paper Airplanes

(3-4)

Gel 

Electrophoresis/ 

Human ID Group 

Tour

 (1:15-2:45 

alternating) 

Implementation into 

curriculum 

(3-3:30)

SURF Seminar

"Time, Einstein, 

and the Coldest 

Stuff in the 

Universe"

3:30-4:30

Scientist Visits 

one-on-one 

(1-2) 

Implementation 

into curriculum:

gel electrophoresis 

trials 

(2-3) 

Separations 3: 

-Ink 

Identification 

with Thin Layer 

Chromatography 

(TLC) 

(3-4) 

Diffraction Demos

Tour Part II 

NCNR Staff

Crystal Growing!

LabQuest 

Activities

(1-4)

Metrology 3: 

Sampling 

Activity

(1-2)

Technology in 

the Classroom

(2-4) 

Scientist Visits

one-on-one 

(1-2)

The Earth 1: 

Solar system 

scale model 

activity 

(2-3) 

Using NIST-based 

Activities in the 

Classroom

(3-4)

SURF Student 

Panel 

Discussion 

(1-2) 

Types of 

Magnetism

(2-3:15)

SURF Seminar

"Cancer 

Therapy with 

Magnetism”

(3:30-4:30)

All current and 

past SI 

participants 

invited 

NIST Astronaut 

1:30-2:45

Final Reception

Reception with all 

participating 

NIST staff invited 

(3-4)

Figure 1. NIST Summer Institute Schedule from 2009. 
17

Figure 2. A middle school science teacher has her hands full with props she just built to teach 

about earthquakes and preservation of man-made structures in earthquake prone regions. 
18

Figure 3. Sample assessment from teacher-participant in NIST Summer Institute 2009.