To slow the flow of blood into a UConn lab device that levitates the red cells using magnetism, Celeste Estevez and another local middle school teacher tried modifying the equipment in a number of ways. At first capillaries broke and the tubes clogged, but eventually they succeeded.<\/p>\n
The perseverance required to troubleshoot the scientific experiment was something Estevez said she will take back to her classroom in Tolland this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving failed day after day and struggled through that, I think it puts me on better ground with the kids to understand when they\u2019re struggling and what that\u2019s like,\u201d said Estevez, one of more than a dozen local teachers in UConn\u2019s summer research program.<\/p>\n
The Joule Fellows Program<\/a>, a six-week experience funded by the National Science Foundation, enables STEM teachers from secondary schools and community colleges to work in a university laboratory on an existing research project.<\/p>\n To help translate the lessons learned in the lab to their classrooms, the fellows participated in the DaVinci Project<\/a>, which incorporates engineering into math, science and technology courses. The DaVinci Project offers information about the wide variety of engineering disciplines and opportunities available to their students.<\/p>\n The Joule Fellows Program also encourages teachers to stay connected. Current fellows meet with previous participants and other engineering personnel on a regular basis.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want them to create a network for each other so that they can help each other,\u201d said Aida Ghiaei, manager and organizer of the fellows program.<\/p>\n