Summer Research Institute for Teachers
The Berkeley Engineering Research Experiences for Teachers (BERET-AIRE) is an empowering program that offers teachers and aspiring teachers with summer research fellowships. The program champions the development and teaching of lessons that connect engineering, data science, and artificial intelligence research into K-12 science and mathematics curricula. Local area teachers are welcome to join the research experiences at UC Berkeley, running from June 30 - August 8, 2025.
BERET-AIRE offers a vibrant experience by pairing in-service and pre-service teachers within faculty labs at UC Berkeley, fostering collaboration under the supervision of a common research mentor.
- In-service teachers are recommended to have a minimum of three years of classroom experience teaching predominantly underrepresented students in Bay Area public middle and high schools.
- Pre-service teachers are UC Berkeley students majoring in math, science, or engineering and enrolled in one or more of the series of courses offered by the CalTeach program, exhibiting a strong commitment to pursue careers in teaching math or science in the K - 12 classroom.
Research disciplines include Bioengineering, Chemistry, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Integrative Biology, Earth and Planetary Science, and Physics.
As part of this program:
- We try to pair one in-service and one pre-service teacher in a host lab under the same research mentor, but working on their own unique research project.
- In-service teachers will work full-time (38-40hrs/week) for 6 weeks, where they will participate in all lab-related activities and meetings, as well as regular check-ins with their research mentors.
- Teams use their summer research experiences as the basis for developing new lessons and curricular materials for classroom use. During and after the summer, teams work together to develop a curriculum unit of a few days to several weeks, and then jointly teach it in the in-service teacher's classroom during the academic year.
- During the summer, teachers engage in weekly professional learning and curricular design sessions with other teachers, and present their research results in a poster session at the end of the summer.
- Additional professional learning will be offered throughout the academic year to support the implementation of the newly designed curriculum. Generally, meetings will take place virtually, during evenings in October, February, and April. Additional stipends may be available to teachers who participate in professional learning sessions, and for those who implement any curriculum designed based on their summer research or design work.
To Apply
Teachers are welcome to join the research experiences at UC Berkeley for Summer 2025!
- Online application coming in early 2025 - check back soon!
Please email sri_calteach@berkeley.edu with questions.