Pre-College Science and Engineering for Inner-City, Middle School Students (Work in Progress)
It is well known that the number of jobs in science and engineering is expected to grow in the next few years. However, the nation’s current student body is not prepared nor sufficiently interested to pursue careers in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. More alarming is the fact that the demographics of students that are attracted to STEM fields demonstrate a significant race gap, with Hispanic and African-American students consistently falling behind to their Caucasian and Asian counterparts in STEM engagement. In order to contribute to the STEM pipeline, we have developed an extensive outreach program that involves middle school math and science teachers, middle school students and their parents, and a diverse group of STEM undergraduate students who serve as mentors. The program is an out-of-school program that includes a hands-on curriculum that focuses on “Using Mathematics to Explain the Physical World”, where students use mathematical modeling and real-life situations to delve deep into different scientific and mathematical concepts. With the pilot program launching in fall 2015 with four half-day Saturday sessions and 60 inner-city, 6th and 7th grade students (primarily African American and Hispanic/Latino), the spring 2016 program will be expanded to include six Saturday sessions. The program seeks to sustain the engagement by launching an additional grade every academic year, with the goal of building a solid 6th – 12th STEM pipeline. Pre-test and post-test assessments will be used to measure student learning and to determine the change in students’ dispositions towards mathematics and science. Participating students will be tracked throughout the program, to determine whether or not they were successfully entrenched into the STEM pipeline.
Sahid Rosado Lausell is the Outreach Coordinator for the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). She received a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, and an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from UIUC. She is currently working on her second master’s in Curriculum and Instruction at UIUC, and working towards a Secondary Education - Mathematics Teaching Licensure. She has been working in the College of Engineering since summer 2013, but officially joined the staff in January 2015. She is particularly interested in increasing diversity in the STEM fields, and hopes to do so through various outreach initiatives in the College of Engineering.
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2902-7103
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
[biography]
Dean
Chief Research Officer
Vice Provost
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs, Professor of Physics
Jana Sebestik received a B.S. in mathematics and M.Ed. in mathematics education from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She is the Assistant Director of STEM Curriculum Design in the Office for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (MSTE) at the University of Illinois. Before coming to MSTE, Jana spent 34 years as a public school classroom teacher. She currently coordinates education and outreach for four NSF/DOE funded energy and cyber related projects. She helps engineers and research scientists connect their work to educators, consumers, and students. She is author of curriculum modules in computer science, mathematics, and science including, Discovering Computer Science & Programming through Scratch and The Power of the Wind, published as part of the National 4-H STEM Initiative.
George Reese is the Director of the Office for Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education (MSTE) in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). He is also the President of the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics (ICTM). Prior to coming to UIUC, he was a high school mathematics teacher in New Mexico.
Adam Poetzel is a Clinical Assistant Professor in Curriculum and Instruction specializing in K-12 Mathematics Education.
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