About

The Research Experiences for Teachers Program at Mayo Clinic is funded by a National Science Foundation grant. The program is in its second year of a three-year cycle. Leading this initiative are Steven N. Hart, Ph.D.; Nancy L. Van Erp, Ph.D.; and Elissa R. Hall, Ed.D., M.A.

Key components

The Research Experiences for Teachers Program features:

  • Close partnership with a research mentor or team and integration into a Mayo Clinic research project.
  • Participation in a curriculum or instructional learning community to learn more about the Mayo Clinic healthcare ecosystem and generative artificial intelligence (AI) and how to develop a curriculum unit.
  • Access to Coursera courses tailored for fellows.
  • Participation in a breadth of AI-related workshops, courses and experiences.
  • A curriculum unit created with a focus on generative AI.
  • Research proposal development.
  • Research poster creation.
  • Virtual poster presentation.
  • In-person poster session.
  • Instruction of the unit, including a classroom visit from a Mayo Clinic curriculum mentor.
  • A $14,000 stipend.

The program consists of:

  • AI research experience. The program immerses local educators in Mayo Clinic research labs. They take part in a variety of projects with mentors who use AI to advance research goals. The experience opens educators' eyes to the breadth of opportunities available to their students in the healthcare ecosystem. It also helps students appreciate the ethical, systemic and logistical implications of research in general and research that integrates AI tools.
  • Curriculum development. Curriculum and instructional experts help educators develop curriculum units to integrate into their middle or high school courses and to use as resources with their colleagues, school districts and communities.
  • Engagement opportunities. During the seven weeks that Research Experiences for Teachers Program fellows spend on the Mayo Clinic campus in Rochester, Minnesota, they are welcome to participate in the same professional development experiences available to all Mayo Clinic employees. In addition, the program's leadership team curates numerous AI-related learning experiences. Some of these experiences are required and others are optional.
  • Learning community. The fellows maintain contact with each other in the year after the summer intensive program to continue learning from each other as they implement their units. They meet with each other and their Mayo Clinic curriculum and instructional experts virtually monthly to debrief and reflect on their instructional units and other developments in their classrooms and school districts. In addition, each fellow receives a classroom visit from their Mayo Clinic curriculum mentor during the school year, ideally when their unit is being taught.