- Year 2016
- NSF Noyce Award # 1439861
- First Name Young
- Last Name Lee
- Discipline Computer Science
- Co-PI(s)
Reza R Ahangar, Texas A&M University-Kingsville; Mauro E Castro, Texas A&M University-Kingsville;
Sung-won Park, Texas A&M University-Kingsville; Oi Yee M Wong-Ratcliff, Texas A&M University-Kingsville - Presenters
Young Lee, Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Need
a) Promotion of NSF Robert Noyce Summer Internship Program: i) Posters were printed and posted around the campus
; and ii) Community Colleges who are the partners of the project were notified.
b) Recruitment of Noyce Interns: i) Classroom visits were made to speak to the freshman and sophomore STEM majors about the internship; and ii) The information and recruitment criteria wereposted on TAMUK Facebook and JNet.
Goals
The main purpose of the program was to provide TAMUK undergraduate students with STEM majors and an interest in teaching an opportunity to observe and participate in STEM education. The internship also provided the interns with preliminary training, which included the strategies to instruct STEM subjects to students with diverse backgrounds
Approach
a) Online Application of the Internship
i) TAMUK Career Services were contacted. Information about the application wereposted on TAMUK career service website and http://www.southtexasstemteachers.com/.
b) Interviews of the Internship Applicants
i) Nine applications were received. 8 interviews were conducted. 4 interns were successfully recruited.They were the students majoring in Mathematics, Environmental Engineering, and Biochemistry.
c) STEM-Teaching Boot Camp
i)Dr. Monica Wong-Ratcliff provided the 4 Noyce Interns with theSTEM-Teaching Boot Camp before they began their internship. It was 1-1/2 days of training onteaching as a profession. She utilized the CourseSiteto create an online Blackboard course site.
The interns could access the course content, which included PowerPoint presentation and websites about STEM education and the Texas Administrative Code and Educators’ Code of Ethics. The interns were also provided with training on the Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) strategies for student success. Moreover, each intern delivered a presentation on STEM instruction to diverse students, particularly English Language Learners (ELLs).
d) Coordinating with the Summer Components of TAMUK Special Programs
i) The Summer Components of TAMUK Special Programs include Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math & Science, and Upward Bound Urban.
Outcomes
The Student Learning Outcomes were all achieved:
i) The pre-and-post tests were administered to the interns to measure the effectiveness of the STEM-Teaching Boot Camp. All of the interns passed the post-test with an average of 98.75 out of 100 points.
ii) The mentor teachers and the directors of Special Programs were very impressed with the performance of the interns.
iii) All of the 4 interns earned the highest scores from their mentor teachers on the weekly InternshipEvaluations.
Broader Impacts
Coordinating with the Summer Components of TAMUK Special Programs:
i) The Summer Components of TAMUK Special Programs include Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math & Science, and Upward Bound Urban. There
were around 100 high school students from the nearby school districts participating in the programs. They stayed in the dormitory on the TAMUK campus for 5 weeks. The daily schedule included attending STEM classes and laboratory, recreation, and a field trip.
ii) The TAMUK Office of Student Access and Special Programs agreed to place the 4 interns into their programs as Peer Mentors/Teacher Assistants. The interns stayed in the dormitory with the high school students. As a peer mentor, each intern was assigned to a group of high school students. They escorted the group everywhere they went. When the students were attending their classes, the interns were there assisting the mentor teacher as well as the students.
