- Year 2017
- NSF Noyce Award # 1659058
- First Name Neal
- Last Name Grandgenett
- Discipline Other: Math and Science
- Co-PI(s)
Angie Hodge (PI), UNO, amhodge@unomaha.edu
Neal Grandgenett (CoPI), UNO, ngrandgenett@unomaha.edu
Michael Matthews (CoPI), UNO, michaelmatthews@unomaha.edu
Janice Rech (CoPI), UNO, jrech@unomaha.edu
Elliott Ostler (CoPI), UNO, elliottostler@unomaha.eduScience
Christine Cutucache (PI), UNO, ccutucache@unomaha.edu
Neal Grandgenett (CoPI), UNO, ngrandgenett@unomaha.edu
Bill Tapprich, UNO, wtapprich@unomaha.edu
JJ Conrad, UNO, jaconrad@unomaha.edu
Renat Sabirianov, UNO, rsabirianov@unomaha.edu - Presenters
Neal Grandgenett, UNO, ngrandgenett@unomaha.edu
Richard Krueger, rkrueger@unomaha.edu
Need
Noyce teacher preparation efforts, particularly within Metropolitan communities need to directly connect with the Communities where these students will teach. This poster presentation shows how this is happening within the Noyce initiatives at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Goals
All of the Noyce Students supported by the Noyce program will have a dual BS in the particular STEM (Math or Science) discipline and in Education. Moreover, the students will participate in pre-professional training opportunities to gain 21st century skills and to serve the community through outreach experiences such as NE STEM 4U, Aim for the Stars, Nebraska Robotics Expo, and the Eureka Summer Camp for Girls. Lastly, participants will be able to participate in in-service professional development opportunities as well upon graduating from the program, such as the Teacher-Researcher Partnership Program and receive assessment and evaluation training to maintain a competitive edge in their respective field of science. The poster will detail the program efforts, including its dual degree pathways and outreach activities.
Approach
Noyce Students have particularly helped to facilitate the various EUREKA! STEM Camps held at UNO. These camps are intensive 4 week interventions that engage 60 girl participants per camp; 30 first year and 30 second year participants, as well as nearly 30 instructional agents (Noyce student workers, faculty and community partners). The Noyce Interns and Scholars have an extensive schedule where they help to teach a wide range of STEM topics. Girls Inc. is the key community partner and represents a national program that engages and empower girls for STEM careers by bringing them to university campuses through the EUREKA! experience. Nationally and in Omaha, 40% of these girls pursue STEM related majors/careers. To help to document the camp intervention, we undertake a formal Social Network Analysis, using several survey and observation assessments. The poster will also describe these results. We were also Ranked #1 in a recent Harvard University Study of STEM collaborations.
Outcomes
Social Network analysis trends were examined for female instructional agent density (mean = 0.1633 as compared to the male instructional density mean = 0.026, with t value = 3.514, df = 16, and p = 0.003). The densities are related to the highest level (4) interactions with female and male instructional agents (Noyce Students and Professors). The girl participants reported more interactions with female instructional agents as compared to male agents (each N=9), which might be expected with young women, especially when they are brand new to a relatively intensive program. This suggests that female instructional agents (female Noyce students and Professors) can perhaps be particularly useful role models for middle school girls in STEM camps. Further, 40% of camp participants have declared that they intend to enroll in a STEM major in College.
Broader Impacts
The Noyce effort has helped to establish the Omaha Citywide STEM Ecosystem, which includes more than 140 participating organizations and more than 250 participating organizational representatives. Noyce Scholars and Interns help to hold various teaching circles, staff outreach events, and generally engage in various citywide STEM efforts. Due to this collaboration, Omaha (as led by UNO’s efforts) is now one of just 34 cities in the National STEM Funders Network.
