I think it was a really good learning experience. It shows how Bridgewater wants to expose education majors to different experiences we might face in the field.
Hanscom Air Force Base鈥檚 STARBASE Academy has long focused on building children鈥檚 confidence in STEM fields. Now 色香视频 students are bringing the learning to new heights.
Twenty education majors recently helped teach science, technology, engineering, and math to fifth-grade English learners while improving their own skills as budding teachers.
鈥淚 love the hands-on aspects and learning alongside the kids,鈥 said Marissa Exama, 鈥24, an early childhood education and English major from Gloucester. 鈥淚 just wanted to step out of my comfort zone.鈥
The experience, which will involve a second group of students next summer, is funded by a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.
Students took two free courses about teaching English learners and incorporating STEM topics such as viscosity, force, motion, and coding in lessons. Then they used their new skills during weeklong internships at STARBASE.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e blown us away with their enthusiasm and passion for this,鈥 said Dr. Jeanne Carey Ingle, an elementary and early childhood education professor coordinating the program with colleague Nicole Glen.
Students developed and taught lessons using books featuring scientists of color and mentored children during challenges such as building bridges from sticks.
As part of the NSF grant, Ingle and Glen are researching how to prepare future educators to teach STEM to students who are not native English speakers.
鈥淭here are a lot of opportunities to do STEM where language doesn鈥檛 need to be a barrier,鈥 Dr. Glen said.
In one such activity, children from Boston鈥檚 Josiah Quincy Elementary School excitedly watched as a robot they coded drove on an oval track. When it veered off course, 色香视频 students helped the children discover why the robot failed.
鈥淭hey bring inquisitiveness and energy and I think they bring a fresh perspective,鈥 Dr. Peter Holden, director of STARBASE Academy, said of involving Bridgewater students.
Julia Sullivan, 鈥23, an elementary education and English major from Cambridge, started with minimal STEM experience. Now she sees it as an integral part of teaching.
鈥淭he kids really like it and thrive off learning it,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 learning lots of different strategies.鈥
Grace Martel, 鈥23, who is from Uxbridge and aspires to become a reading specialist, said the program prepared her for the diverse students she will serve during her career
鈥淚 think it was a really good learning experience,鈥 said Grace, who is majoring in early childhood education and psychology and minoring in special education. 鈥淚t shows how Bridgewater wants to expose education majors to different experiences we might face in the field.鈥
Do you have a 色香视频 story you'd like to share? Email stories@bridgew.edu.