The NSF RET grants (Research Experiences for Teachers) program strengthens STEM education by immersing K–12 teachers and community college faculty in active, cutting-edge research environments. RET participants work directly with academic research teams, gaining exposure to emerging STEM methodologies, laboratory techniques, computational tools, and engineering design processes. Unlike student-focused training initiatives, RET is centered on pedagogy, curriculum transformation, and long-term capacity-building—ensuring that teachers can translate authentic scientific practices into classroom instruction and inspire future generations of STEM learners. 

NSF RET Sites support cohorts of teachers through immersive summer research experiences, professional-development workshops, curriculum design studios, and follow-up sessions during the academic year. These projects emphasize mentorship, collaborative research, inquiry-based learning approaches, and the co-development of classroom-ready curricular materials aligned with state and national standards. Teachers often create lesson plans, project-based learning modules, and hands-on classroom activities derived directly from their research experiences. 

NSF RET Supplements allow existing NSF-funded research teams to integrate teacher participants into ongoing projects, expanding the program’s educational impact while strengthening university–school partnerships. Across both tracks, RET emphasizes broadening participation by partnering with high-need schools, rural districts, Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), and community college systems. 

Eligibility includes U.S. universities and research institutions that host the research experiences, as well as K–12 teachers and community college educators who participate in the program. Proposals must demonstrate a strong research environment, a coherent professional-development strategy, mentorship plans, evaluation frameworks, and mechanisms for sustained classroom integration. Broader impacts—such as improved STEM pedagogy, strengthened local STEM ecosystems, and support for underserved student populations—play a major role in the review process. 

Successful NSF RET proposals build interdisciplinary collaborations across engineering, computer science, mathematics, environmental science, biology, and other STEM domains. Many programs incorporate modern topics such as robotics, AI/ML, renewable energy systems, climate science, biotechnology, and data-driven scientific inquiry. 

ScienceDocs Can Help 

ScienceDocs supports RET Sites and Supplement applicants with proposal development, curriculum-integration strategies, evaluation plans, and broader-impact frameworks aligned with NSF expectations. 
Begin at sciencedocs.com/quotes.