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Undergraduate turtle tracking in an open field.

Pre-service Teacher Research Experience in Biodiversity Studies

Research Experience for Teachers in Biodiversity Studies

With funding from the National Science Foundation, Loyola University Chicago is excited to offer summer research internships for teacher candidates interested in teaching science or math at the high school level.

Teachers are expected to implement inquiry-based approaches in the classroom; however this can be challenging without participating in research first-hand. With this new program, beginning teachers will work full time over 10 weeks alongside a Loyola faculty lab for a paid summer internship. Complementing the research, biodiversity interns will participate in professional development sessions focused on STEM education and how to authenticly integrate inquiry-based experiences into their future classrooms.

Biodiversity Studies Summer Internship

The focus of this program is Biodiversity in an urban setting. The loss of biodiversity is one of the biggest challenges of our time and thus biodiversity science is one of the fastest growing and most integrative fields in all of science and incorporates questions and methodologies from a range of disciplines including biology, chemistry, geology, computer science, math, and statistics. Questions: Contact Dr. Michael Grillo, mgrillo1@luc.edu.

The Team

Mike Grillo, PhD, Biology

Lara Smetana, PhD, Science Education

Katherine Gross, PhD, External Evaluator

Betsy Leong, Graduate Research Assistant 

Loyola Science Faculty Mentors:  Participating laboratories may vary from year to year.

Below are a few examples of past science faculty mentors and the research projects their pre-RET student conducted.

ResearcherArea of ResearchExample of Preservice Teacher Research Project
Michael Grillo Evolution of plant diversity, plant-microbe coevolution Impacts of urbanization on plant host associated microbiome diversity
John Kelly Ecology and diversity of aquatic microbial communities Effects of pharmaceuticals on microbial community diversity in urban streams
Thomas Sanger Morphological diversity and evolution of reptiles Urban heat islands: Embryonic thermal stress and its risk to 21st century lizard diversity
Timothy Hoellein Aquatic ecology and ecological impacts of microplastic The effect of flooding on the abundance and distribution of plastic litter in urban streams

Program Details

Eligibility:

- Participants should be currently pursuing or should have recently earned a Bachelor’s degree in any field of Science or Math, and have demonstrated interest in a career teaching secondary (high school) science or math.
- Participants must be US Citizens, US Nationals, or US Permanent Resident Aliens to be eligible for funding through this National Science Foundation program.
- open to students from Loyola as well as any other US university

What: Full time summer research fellowships

Who: STEM majors interested in pursuing a degree in teaching high school science

Where: Loyola University of Chicago’s Lakeshore Campus in Rogers Park

When: Summer (full time with some schedule flexibility).

Schedules are dependent on the specific research project and are arranged by the pre-RET and research mentor.

Stipend: $6,000 stipend plus funds to attend a conference

Questions: Contact Dr. Michael Grillo, mgrillo1@luc.edu

Application Details

We review applications on a rolling basis starting in December, so please apply early to receive full consideration.

Application Link: Loyola pre-RET Application

Questions: Contact Dr. Michael Grillo, mgrillo1@luc.edu

Students at a work station in a greenhouse working.

Education and Biology collaboration secures National Science Foundation funding

Preparing high-quality secondary science and mathematics teachers

The program exposes future teachers to research and provides first-hand experience with the scientific process to enhance their preparedness and ability to effectively teach science in the classroom. The focus of this program is biodiversity in an urban setting.

Learn More

10

Students will work full time over 10 weeks in a Loyola faculty member's lab

$6,000

Participants will receive a $6,000 stipend

For this program, both graduate and undergraduate students will work full time over 10 weeks in a Loyola faculty members lab during the summer (May-August) and will participate in weekly professional development sessions. Participants will receive a $6,000 stipend and will have opportunities to attend a professional conference.

With funding from the National Science Foundation, Loyola University Chicago is excited to offer summer research internships for teacher candidates interested in teaching science or math at the high school level.

Teachers are expected to implement inquiry-based approaches in the classroom; however this can be challenging without participating in research first-hand. With this new program, beginning teachers will work full time over 10 weeks alongside a Loyola faculty lab for a paid summer internship. Complementing the research, biodiversity interns will participate in professional development sessions focused on STEM education and how to authenticly integrate inquiry-based experiences into their future classrooms.

Biodiversity Studies Summer Internship

The focus of this program is Biodiversity in an urban setting. The loss of biodiversity is one of the biggest challenges of our time and thus biodiversity science is one of the fastest growing and most integrative fields in all of science and incorporates questions and methodologies from a range of disciplines including biology, chemistry, geology, computer science, math, and statistics. Questions: Contact Dr. Michael Grillo, mgrillo1@luc.edu.

For this program, both graduate and undergraduate students will work full time over 10 weeks in a Loyola faculty members lab during the summer (May-August) and will participate in weekly professional development sessions. Participants will receive a $6,000 stipend and will have opportunities to attend a professional conference.