"By nature all people are alike, but by education become different."- Robert Green Ingersoll
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In order for our society to continue to grow it is critical that our science and technology industries reflect the changing demographics across the country. Minority populations across the United States are expected to grow rapidly but unfortunately the number of underrepresented students in STEM related fields continues to be very low. This poses a huge problem, not only for the education system but also for our society down the road. The disparity seen in STEM fields is due to a number of factors but can mainly be attributed to a lack of opportunities and support. I hope to help change that by developing and leading programs to help all students succeed.
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Lasc 397b: entering research for undergraduate latina/o students
During my time at the University of Arizona I worked with the Teaching Teams Program, hosted in the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, where I was the instructor of record teaching a STEM-focused pilot course for undergraduate students who identify as either Mexican, Mexican-American, Latina/o, Chicana/o, and/or Hispanic.
This innovative course examined the efficacy of a new curriculum design and prepared students for the rigors they will face in their chosen STEM fields. This course deconstructed the scientific method in seminar-style workshops that met once a week for the duration of the fall and spring semester, academic year 2015-2016. The hopes of this course were to allow students to connect to academic content in their language of choice. By doing so we believed the learning process became richer, leading to an overall more meaningful learning experience. For this reason, we invited students to speak Spanish if they wished to do so in the classroom space (though 95% of the class dialogue was in English). As a result of this course, students learned: how to form research groups; how to read scientific journals; how to write literature reviews; how to find a research mentors; how to build confidence; how to apply to scholarships and graduate school; and gained hands on research experiences.
The Teaching Teams program also offers an LASC 397B course for the general population that may apply to by clicking on the following link: https://teachingteams.arizona.edu/research
Unfortunately, my academic career plans no longer allowed me to instruct this class at the University of Arizona but I am currently developing a similar course at my new institution. Dr. Shireen Keyl, Assistant Staff Scientist in Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona, is overseeing this innovative course. If you have any questions regarding this course or if you are a student interested in taking this course, please contact Dr. Keyl at [email protected].
This innovative course examined the efficacy of a new curriculum design and prepared students for the rigors they will face in their chosen STEM fields. This course deconstructed the scientific method in seminar-style workshops that met once a week for the duration of the fall and spring semester, academic year 2015-2016. The hopes of this course were to allow students to connect to academic content in their language of choice. By doing so we believed the learning process became richer, leading to an overall more meaningful learning experience. For this reason, we invited students to speak Spanish if they wished to do so in the classroom space (though 95% of the class dialogue was in English). As a result of this course, students learned: how to form research groups; how to read scientific journals; how to write literature reviews; how to find a research mentors; how to build confidence; how to apply to scholarships and graduate school; and gained hands on research experiences.
The Teaching Teams program also offers an LASC 397B course for the general population that may apply to by clicking on the following link: https://teachingteams.arizona.edu/research
Unfortunately, my academic career plans no longer allowed me to instruct this class at the University of Arizona but I am currently developing a similar course at my new institution. Dr. Shireen Keyl, Assistant Staff Scientist in Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona, is overseeing this innovative course. If you have any questions regarding this course or if you are a student interested in taking this course, please contact Dr. Keyl at [email protected].
Last Update: 12/20/16
