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Icon for: Laura Farrelly

LAURA FARRELLY

Couragion
Facilitators’
Choice

STEM Career Literacy

NSF Awards: 1548757

2017 (see original presentation & discussion)

Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Undergraduate

Couragion was founded in 2015 with a mission to inspire underrepresented youth to pursue skills, competencies and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Couragion links education to industry and community with diverse role models, a “best fit” career assessment, ongoing curricula, and personal learning plans that help better prepare students to enter the workforce. Couragion provides partner schools with the necessary educator resources and professional development to integrate programming directly into the classroom that is learner-led and personalized. Couragion is different because their data-driven approach is proven to improve the perception and awareness of STEM careers. Couragion is supported by the National Science Foundation and AT&T Aspire.

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Discussion from the 2017 STEM for All Video Showcase (21 posts)
  • Icon for: Laura Farrelly

    Laura Farrelly

    Lead Presenter
    COO
    May 15, 2017 | 08:18 a.m.

    Welcome to the Couragion video! We are on a mission to boost the number and diversity of students that pursue STEM pathways. We are in the process of determining which outcomes are key to measure to prove our impact. The video highlights some of the outcomes we track today. We would welcome your ideas on other outcomes or measurements we should consider as we continue to track our impact and expand our product offering. And of course, discussions on other aspects of our project are also of interest to us - so comment away!

  • Icon for: Marcelo Worsley

    Marcelo Worsley

    Facilitator
    Assistant Professor
    May 15, 2017 | 11:44 a.m.

    Thanks for sharing this video. I would have loved using this platform when I was younger, and can imagine that there are countless school districts around the country that would appreciate having access to this service. One question I wanted to ask is how Couragion is able to scale to different geographies, and if there are ways for the students to virtually connect with professionals from the different industries. Also, what recommendations do you have for organizations that want to do something similar?

  • Icon for: Laura Farrelly

    Laura Farrelly

    Lead Presenter
    COO
    May 15, 2017 | 11:51 a.m.

    Hi Marcelo - thanks for the post - most adults that see the product tell us they wish they had something similar when they were younger:)  Because our product is web based and access to the role models is virtual/via video, it is easy to scale to other geographies - our goal in designing the product was that it could be accessed wherever the student was - rural, city, suburb, etc. Currently there is no live interaction with the professionals but we are considering features whereby students can interact with the role models via video chat sessions or online question submissions. If organizations are interested in doing something similar, they can email us to schedule a web call - laura@couragion.com. We can review how our customers are using the product today and help them to understand how they can best implement in their organization.

     
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    Mary Dussault
  • Icon for: Janet Yowell

    Janet Yowell

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 15, 2017 | 12:01 p.m.

    That's some cool stuff! What a great resource for youth trying to figure it all out. Have you considered connecting with "Engineer Your Life" to offer this platform through their site also. They offer tools and resources for young girls to learn about engineering (specifically) careers... this would add another layer to their efforts as well (and your own).

     

    As with Marcelo's comment above, I'm struck by how fantastic your back end in connecting people to different locations. It's marvelous. (I imagine users have a profile set up with enough information to filter out the location.) My question is (and if your video mentioned this and I missed it, I apologize), what ages/level of students is your aim? How young/how old of a student do you have a quest available?

  • Icon for: Laura Farrelly

    Laura Farrelly

    Lead Presenter
    COO
    May 15, 2017 | 12:06 p.m.

    Hi Janet - thanks for your comment. I will check out the 'Engineer your Life' site - appreciate the tip. Regarding target ages/levels - we designed the product for middle school and early high school students (and reading level was aimed at 6th grade reading level). That being said, we have paid customers from 4th grade to college using the app. In the younger grades, there is more support/direction provided by the educator.

     
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    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Janet Yowell
  • Icon for: Sharon Lynch

    Sharon Lynch

    Researcher
    May 15, 2017 | 01:38 p.m.

    This sounds like it has great potential. Our work suggests that students do not know the "right" courses to take in high school to get them on a STEM career path, and sometimes, neither to counselors. 

    For instance, many capable students don't seem to find their ways into a "standard" college prep sequence of courses. 

    Does this app help deal with this? 

    Do you have high school advisers use the app? 

    Thanks.

     

     

     

     

     

     
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    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Lauren Amos
  • Icon for: Laura Farrelly

    Laura Farrelly

    Lead Presenter
    COO
    May 15, 2017 | 09:46 p.m.

    Hi Sharon - when we partner with a school/district, we help students understand which courses they should take at their high school in order to best prepare for their best fit careers. These recommendations are presented to the student right in the app. Also in the videos, the role models will discuss which courses are most important for the job.  Regarding your high school advisors question - yes, HS advisement and counselors are involved in using the product along with STEM teachers and administrators.

     
    1
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Mary Dussault
  • Icon for: Susie Nakamura

    Susie Nakamura

    Graduate Student
    May 15, 2017 | 02:40 p.m.

    Hi Laura, I admire your work! I specifically appreciate your focus on role models, as they can instill hope in youth who have similar STEM interests.
    I'm currently a research assistant to an after school program designed to support low income and immigrant youth to build interest, motivation, and identification with STEM and to learn more about STEM college and career pathways.  Here is the link to our video: http://stemforall2017.videohall.com/presentatio...

    It would be great if you could actually connect the role models to the youth, as the current platform seems like it is based on one-way interactions. I am sure the youth would be able to develop a realistic viewpoint about STEM careers if they are given the chance of engaging with meaningful discourses with the role models!



     
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    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Mary Dussault
  • Icon for: Laura Farrelly

    Laura Farrelly

    Lead Presenter
    COO
    May 15, 2017 | 09:34 p.m.

    We selected recorded role models in order to make things more accessible to students regardless of their location or the availability of a live mentor/role model. In the future we may add features that allow for live webinar type interactions or chat type features. Thanks for viewing the video and I will check out yours too.

  • Icon for: Barbara Ericson

    Barbara Ericson

    Researcher
    May 16, 2017 | 01:58 p.m.

    Are you doing any long term follow-up to see if more students actually major in STEM fields?  Changing their intention in middle or high school is one thing, but negative stereotypes and the difficulty of STEM subjects can change students' actual plans.  

     
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    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Lauren Amos
  • Icon for: Laura Farrelly

    Laura Farrelly

    Lead Presenter
    COO
    May 16, 2017 | 02:29 p.m.

    Hi Barbara - thanks for viewing the video. And yes, we are looking at longer term impacts beyond intention - tracking such things as course enrollment, post-secondary enrollment/completion and ultimately job entry - we are in discussions with a partner university to do a longitudinal study to track this formally.

  • Icon for: Michael Lach

    Michael Lach

    Facilitator
    Director of STEM Policy and Strategic Initiatives
    May 16, 2017 | 09:55 p.m.

    Very cool! Curious how parents see this sort of resource--I'm sure most of them find it really exciting, though it likely takes them away from things they know well, which can be really scary as a mom or dad.

  • Icon for: Laura Farrelly

    Laura Farrelly

    Lead Presenter
    COO
    May 16, 2017 | 10:16 p.m.

    Parent feedback has been very positive. Most parents say 'I wish I had this when I was a kid'. We also have an educator tool that has features to support parent-teacher conferences. Teachers are able to show parents what careers their child is interested in and coach parents about how they can support their child in pursuing activities related to that career. Thanks for viewing our video.

  • Icon for: Lauren Amos

    Lauren Amos

    Facilitator
    Associate Director
    May 17, 2017 | 05:09 p.m.

    This tool looks fantastic! Many underrepresented minority students (especially first generation college students) struggle when they transition into STEM coursework at the postsecondary level--even when they enter with a record of high academic achievement. For instance, the literature has demonstrated the importance of resiliency and persistence to survive first-year math and science courses that serve as weeders for more advanced coursework. Have you considered featuring (or do you already feature) undergraduate and graduate students as role models on the site who might talk openly about roadblocks they faced and the avenues they took to circumvent them (e.g., participating in undergraduate research experiences, using online resources like Khan academy, forming a study group)?

  • Icon for: Laura Farrelly

    Laura Farrelly

    Lead Presenter
    COO
    May 17, 2017 | 05:55 p.m.

    Hi Lauren and thanks for the thoughtful comments. I like your idea of featuring college students - we have some coverage in that area - for example, one of our role models is working as an Engineer Technician while going to school to earn her bachelor's degree. We love that she shows kids an alternate path to a degree - taking a bit lower course load in order to work full time and pay for school. Another role model is a PhD candidate and discusses the process of getting a masters and PhD - from researching to defending his thesis for example. But I think we could definitely build out more on this front - thanks much!

  • Icon for: Stacey Forsyth

    Stacey Forsyth

    Informal Educator
    May 18, 2017 | 04:45 p.m.

    Nice video, Laura! I love how your app exposes students to a wide variety of careers and connects them with additional resources and opportunities that they may want to pursue based on their interest in a particular field.

  • Icon for: Laura Farrelly

    Laura Farrelly

    Lead Presenter
    COO
    May 18, 2017 | 06:28 p.m.

    Thanks Stacey! Appreciate you viewing the video.

  • Icon for: Lauren Causey

    Lauren Causey

    Researcher
    May 18, 2017 | 06:44 p.m.

    Congratulations on the creation of the app. I love the way it provides concrete steps that a young person would need to take to obtain a particular career. I am curious about how you recruit the role models, and/or how you decided on which STEM careers would be representative of the field. Again, thank you for your work to inspire and inform young people! 

  • Icon for: Laura Farrelly

    Laura Farrelly

    Lead Presenter
    COO
    May 18, 2017 | 06:54 p.m.

    Hi Lauren - thanks for viewing the video and taking the time to provide feedback. We look at job growth projections as one key factor in selecting careers. And we recruit via our network, LinkedIn, or via partner organizations such as the Society of Women Engineers.

  • Icon for: Erika Wright

    Erika Wright

    Informal Educator
    May 19, 2017 | 03:42 p.m.

    Great Video Laura. It is so great to see how other groups are exposing young people to the variety of STEM careers, as well as the variety of people who do those jobs! Our YouthAstroNet project (http://stemforall2017.videohall.com/presentations/971) also highlights diverse STEM role models as a key component to encouraging motivation and interest in STEM careers for underrepresented youth.

    Youth participants in our program can interact with our STEM mentors in 3 ways: exploring mentor profiles, engaging in conversations with a digital mentor on our online portal, or through live webinar interactions. The first two they can do on their own, while the live interactions are coordinated through their educator. We've had pretty good success so far with our digital mentors and live interactions, and I would be happy to share our lessons learned as you explore this option for your program in the future. It is easier, however, to engage the scientists in creating mentor profiles (shorter time commitment with a lasting impact). I'm always trying to make our mentor profiles more engaging, and helpful to our youth. So I'm curious, what kind of information do you include about your STEM role models, and what components have you found to have the strongest impacts on student career interest?

  • Icon for: Laura Farrelly

    Laura Farrelly

    Lead Presenter
    COO
    May 20, 2017 | 09:01 p.m.

    I checked out your program and it looks really great - nice work! Our STEM role models cover topics such as job tasks, job likes/dislikes, work schedule, career advice, personal interests/hobbies, etc. I think the strongest impact on student career interest is seeing the jobs and work environment first hand along with seeing diverse role models in the jobs. Best of luck with your project and thanks for taking the time to view our video and provide feedback/info.

  • Further posting is closed as the event has ended.