The POETS Research Experience for Teachers program began in 2015 with one local teacher. It has grown to include 8 teachers in 3 schools covering 2 school districts. In 2015 teachers experienced five short courses with various POETS faculty working in different research areas aimed at the center's research goals. From this developed a lesson plan centered around thermal energy, heat transfer and how temperature related to kinetic energy. The U of A then partnered with Hellstern Middle School to pilot these lesson plans in their sixth-grade science classrooms in October 2016. The following year they expanded the curriculum to include older students at Harber High School and Farmington High School. The lesson plans and activities that resulted from the research are available to any teacher who wishes to use them through the Center for Math and Science Education as well as the other five STEM centers around the state. Since the lesson plans and activities meet current Next Generation Science Standards, they are useful to anyone in the country.
