Earlier this year, Missouri State University received a three-year, $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) with the goal of boosting research experiences for middle and high school educators in southwest Missouri.
This opportunity created the Computer Science Research Opportunity for Smart Environments (ROSE) program.
Dr. Razib Iqbal, associate professor of computer science, is the principal investigator of the grant.
“This grant is a transformative experience for the participating middle and high school STEM teachers,” Iqbal said. “It offers professional development, enhances teaching practices and allows teachers to make positive contributions to both education and research.”
Learning for their students
The first teacher cohort for the 2023-24 academic year started with a very successful 6-week summer research and training workshop from June 12 through July 21.
The cohort comprised seven middle and high school teachers from southwest Missouri.
During these busy six weeks, each teacher conducted research on the subjects of speech emotion detection, multi-agent control and internet of things (IoT) security.
After expanding their knowledge on these subjects, the teachers then used their results to develop classroom implementation plans to formulate what they learned into easy-to-understand lessons and activities for their students.
“When teachers are actively involved in exciting research projects, they become better role models for their students,” Iqbal said. “By sharing their experiences and enthusiasm for computer science and smart environments, teachers can inspire and encourage their students to pursue careers and interests in STEM fields.”
Emotion detection
Detecting and understanding student emotion in the classroom can be vital for teachers as they navigate their students’ needs.
Three teachers in the cohort explored how to apply machine learning models to detect emotions from short conversations:
- Steve Gewinner of Hillcrest High School in Springfield, Missouri.
- Danielle Laning of Humansville School District in Humansville, Missouri.
- An Pham of Pierce City Middle School in Pierce City, Missouri.
Multi-agent control
Multi-agent systems can easily be grouped in the area of artificial intelligence. These systems include multiple decision-making agents that interact in a shared environment to achieve either the same or different goal.
Two teachers in the cohort investigated how to control these systems:
- Logan Ross of Joplin High School in Joplin, Missouri.
- Brian Zweerink of Marshfield High School in Marshfield, Missouri.
IoT security
IoT is a blanket term for physical devices that connect to the internet to carry out their duties. An example is home security systems with remote monitoring.
The necessity of an internet connection also introduces the need for these devices to have a strong sense of security.
Two teachers in the cohort examined vulnerabilities of everyday smart devices:
- Tara Bonebrake of The Summit Preparatory School in Springfield, Missouri.
- Zachary Frantsen of Marion C. Early High School in Morrisville, Missouri.
The grant’s team members
This outstanding opportunity would not be possible without the people who are behind the grant.
Principal investigator
- Iqbal.
Co-principal investigators
- Dr. Ajay Katangur, department head of computer science.
- Dr. Siming Liu, assistant professor of computer science.
- Dr. Tayo Obafemi-Ajayi, associate professor of the cooperative engineering program.
- Dr. Diana Piccolo, assistant department head and professor of the childhood education and family studies department.
- Dr. Ximena Uribe-Zarain, associate professor of counseling, leadership and special education.
Graduate student mentors
- Samuel Nack.
- Ayesha Siddiqua.
- Debaleen Das Spandan.
- Jeniya Sultana.
The future of ROSE
This is the first of three years that the ROSE program will help to transform STEM teachers and their classrooms.
The second ROSE summer workshop will take place from June 10 through July 19, 2024, on the Missouri State campus and applications are now open. If you are a STEM educator in the southwestern Missouri area, you are highly encouraged to apply.