National Summer Teacher Institute on Innovation, STEM, and Intellectual Property

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. When is the deadline for submitting applications?
  2. Applications are still being accepted for participants who live within a 50-mile radius of Santa Clara, CA. The deadline for submitting local applications has been extended to Sunday, August 3, 2014. The deadline for submitting applications for participants beyond the local area was Monday, July 14, 2014 and is now closed. Only applications submitted on line via the link or email address provided on the form will be accepted and reviewed for consideration.

  3. Will everyone who applies be accepted for participation in the program?
  4. No, spaces are limited for this inaugural program. The selection process is based upon the responses on the application form and school and community demographics. Fifty percent of the applicants will be selected from within a 50 mile radius of the local venue.

  5. What is the USPTO's goal in the selection process?
  6. The USPTO's goal is to provide opportunities for educators to explore the concepts of intellectual property creation, development, and protection as it relates to science, technology, engineering, mathematics, art, design, invention, and innovation. We hope to attract educators from a broad spectrum of academic disciplines and school districts across the country. Factors to be considered include subject areas taught, involvement in student mentoring, diversity in size of school district, school type (private/public, rural/urban), and socioeconomic backgrounds of student populations and communities. Teachers from all schools and communities are encouraged to apply and the USPTO hopes to have a wide variety of K-12 educators and interests represented in the cohort.

  7. When will applicants who live beyond a 50-mile radius of the venue be notified of their selection?
  8. The USPTO will notify selected applicants via e-mail on or about July 17, 2014.

  9. If I am selected to be a part of the Institute, when do I have to notify the USPTO of my acceptance?
  10. The USPTO requires notification of acceptance as soon as possible after notification of acceptance in the Institute but no later than 12 noon on July 21, 2014. *Note this date applies for applicants who live beyond a 50-mile radius of Santa Clara, CA.

  11. When will applicants who live within a 50-mile radius of the venue be notified of their selection?
  12. The USPTO will notify local applicants via e-mail on or about August 5, 2014. Local applicants, that is, those within a 50-mile radius of Santa Clara, CA must confirm attendance as soon as possible after notification of acceptance in the Institute but no later than 12 noon on August, 2, 2014.

  13. Can I choose to participate less than the four days planned for the Institute?
  14. No. Only teachers that can participate for the duration of the four-day Institute will be accepted to participate in this special program.

  15. What are the primary objectives of the Teacher Innovation Institute?
    1. Increase public knowledge about the significance of intellectual property (IP) and innovation, especially as it relates to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), art, design, and entrepreneurship.
    2. Help increase the number of students actively pursuing making, inventing, innovation, and STEM fields of study and careers.
    3. Offer tools and instructional strategies to encourage student learning about STEM, innovation, and IP.
    4. Highlight the accomplishments and contributions of inventors and the advances realized as a result of invention.
  16. What is the content scope of the Institute?
    1. Sessions at the Institute will cover a broad range of topics in Intellectual Property (patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets), STEM education, and innovation.
    2. The materials will help teachers incorporate making, inventing, and intellectual property creation and protection in STEM lesson plans and classroom instruction.
    3. Teachers will be equipped to challenge young innovators and entrepreneurs to make, improve, and repurpose new inventions from expired patents, inventions, and designs.
  17. Who will conduct the sessions?
  18. Workshops will be conducted by National Science Foundation-funded researchers, USPTO experts, the U.S. Department of Education, representatives from the Maker Education community, and distinguished faculty inventors from U.S. universities.

  19. What are the learning outcomes of the Institute? What can I expect to learn by participating?
  20. Educators will:

    1. Apply the principles of IP and innovation to help further motivate and engage students in authentic project-based learning in STEM.
    2. Experience how innovators invent new things, improve upon old ones, and apply the creative design and engineering process.
    3. Explore resources designed to encourage student inquiry using a strategy modeled on the research-based science writing heuristic to help meet Next Generation standards in science and engineering.
    4. Gain experience in methods to implement the "Science of Innovation" materials in the classroom.
    5. Become part of a national network of education professionals at the cutting edge of integrating IP, innovation and STEM into the K-12 education curricula.