Post your queries and thoughts related to this month's theme below.
Public Discussion
GABRIELLA ASHFORD
August 10, 2021 | 04:35 p.m.
Is there a list of professors that are available by state so that I can try and partner with one in Washington to try and get funding to pay peer mentors stipends or internships. I have a 10 year K-12 STEM program that is ready to step up to that level. We have piloted the program, and the teachers in the rural Washington State classroom need the student peer mentors help in teaching STEM.
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Patricia Morreale
August 10, 2021 | 05:18 p.m.
Good question! If you know that you want a Washington State professor, I encourage you to contact professors from surrounding colleges and universities with a mentoring invitation, either for the faculty or the students. We've found that virtual mentoring works very well and the mentors are even more likely to participate as virtual mentoring can fit in well with their regular schedule. (Particularly good for peer student mentors!) Depending on the STEM disciplines needed, you could bring in mentors from several different campuses, which would broaden the community of college and universities participating and providing students with many examples.
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Ann Gates
August 11, 2021 | 10:11 a.m.
Another suggestion is to search the NSF awards and identify projects and the PIs who align with your interests. NSF Award Search: Simple Search.
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Emma Perez
August 10, 2021 | 04:43 p.m.
Will there be a recording of today's webinar? Thank you.
One of the themes that emerged from the discussions highlighted the importance of building communities of learners. Consider communities of faculty and staff who share strategies and lessons learned (Metroplex provides mechanisms for building such communities); communities of students that can reinforce students’ STEM identify and a sense of belonging (the panelists described such communities); and hybrid communities that includes regional and national partners who can provide the needed support structures. I encourage you to review the NSF INCLUDES (Inclusion Across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science) program. INCLUDES alliances use a Collect Impact model or Network Improvement Community framework to accelerate change. Here's a nice article about the newly awarded alliances: NSF Awards $50 Million To Create Five University-Led Alliances Promoting STEM Education for Underrepresented Groups (forbes.com)
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GABRIELLA ASHFORD
August 11, 2021 | 07:48 p.m.
Yes, we are pretty rural but I have reached out to a UW professor today, and having this national level conversation has left me inspired to partner outside of my community to drive the change within my community. Not just that but it makes me realize that for the last 10 years, other people with the same paths have been driving the same route - just in different vehicles. It's incredibly uplifting. It would also help to have an accountability circle where once a week - we outline our goals, troubleshoot what is preventing getting to the goal, and support each other as we hit new milestones. For example, I managed to get a STEM council rolling before Covid, and then since then, the librarian who was a cornerstone to it has been overwhelmed, so starting it back up has been super hard. Where as in this conversation, we are all focused on the same problems... How would we initiate a 3 month accountability circle (say meets once a week, ends in November...)
GABRIELLA ASHFORD
Is there a list of professors that are available by state so that I can try and partner with one in Washington to try and get funding to pay peer mentors stipends or internships. I have a 10 year K-12 STEM program that is ready to step up to that level. We have piloted the program, and the teachers in the rural Washington State classroom need the student peer mentors help in teaching STEM.
Patricia Morreale
Good question! If you know that you want a Washington State professor, I encourage you to contact professors from surrounding colleges and universities with a mentoring invitation, either for the faculty or the students. We've found that virtual mentoring works very well and the mentors are even more likely to participate as virtual mentoring can fit in well with their regular schedule. (Particularly good for peer student mentors!) Depending on the STEM disciplines needed, you could bring in mentors from several different campuses, which would broaden the community of college and universities participating and providing students with many examples.
Ann Gates
Another suggestion is to search the NSF awards and identify projects and the PIs who align with your interests. NSF Award Search: Simple Search.
Emma Perez
Will there be a recording of today's webinar? Thank you.
Kimberly Descoteaux
HI Emma, Yes, there is a recording available here: /pages/august2021webinar
Ann Gates
One of the themes that emerged from the discussions highlighted the importance of building communities of learners. Consider communities of faculty and staff who share strategies and lessons learned (Metroplex provides mechanisms for building such communities); communities of students that can reinforce students’ STEM identify and a sense of belonging (the panelists described such communities); and hybrid communities that includes regional and national partners who can provide the needed support structures. I encourage you to review the NSF INCLUDES (Inclusion Across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science) program. INCLUDES alliances use a Collect Impact model or Network Improvement Community framework to accelerate change. Here's a nice article about the newly awarded alliances: NSF Awards $50 Million To Create Five University-Led Alliances Promoting STEM Education for Underrepresented Groups (forbes.com)
GABRIELLA ASHFORD
Yes, we are pretty rural but I have reached out to a UW professor today, and having this national level conversation has left me inspired to partner outside of my community to drive the change within my community. Not just that but it makes me realize that for the last 10 years, other people with the same paths have been driving the same route - just in different vehicles. It's incredibly uplifting. It would also help to have an accountability circle where once a week - we outline our goals, troubleshoot what is preventing getting to the goal, and support each other as we hit new milestones. For example, I managed to get a STEM council rolling before Covid, and then since then, the librarian who was a cornerstone to it has been overwhelmed, so starting it back up has been super hard. Where as in this conversation, we are all focused on the same problems... How would we initiate a 3 month accountability circle (say meets once a week, ends in November...)