11:00 - 11:45 AM
Interactive Presentations | Round 2 P4: Engaging Dialogues – Virtual Conversations between Teacher Candidates and Scientists through “Skype-A-Scientist” Franklin Allaire: UHD Assistant Professor of Urban Education Co-presenter: Tonya D. Jeffery, UHD Assistant Professor of Science Education Skype-A-Scientist is a database of almost 6,000 scientists who have signed up to speak to classrooms, student groups, and families across the country. The presenters successfully integrated Skype-A-Scientist into their undergraduate Elementary Science Methods courses at UHD during the Fall 2022 semester. During the interactions, scientists described the research they were conducting, how they were inspired to pursue degrees and careers in science, teaching-related events that shaped their professional lives, and the struggles that came with choosing their career paths and succeeding in their respective fields. The response from students (N = 77) who participated in the inaugural experience has been overwhelmingly positive. In this presentation, attendees will here about the Skype-A-Scientist program, data from students who participated in the experience, and lessons learned from the inaugural implementation. Attendees will come away from this presentation inspired to try Skype-A-Scientist, or a similar program, to connect their students with professionals in their field.
P5: The Service Learning Teaching Circle: Aims for Student Success, Student Engagement, and Student Retention Zeenat Mitha: UHD Lecturer of Arts & Communication At UHD, Service Learning is about student engagement with the greater Houston community. This fosters student success and enhances student retention, because when you make learning insightful, creative, challenging, and yes, fun, students stay in the course, and put in the time to make it work! My name is Zeenat Mitha, and I have taught using Service Learning at UHD for ten years. I wanted to provide students with learning opportunities that would expose them to both theory and practice, while helping them learning something new and give back to the community. Over the past decade, students have worked with or engaged in programs with many remarkable non-profit organizations, including Asia Society Texas Center, Child Advocates of Fort Bend, Crime Stoppers, Literacy Council of Fort Bend, and Pangea Network. In my courses, students typically work in groups and come up with presentations on a theme they found appealing to present to the community. For many of our students, this was the first time they had to speak publicly to an external group, and for most, this was the first time they were using their classroom knowledge of public relations for the benefit of the greater Houston community. Come hear more about the value of incorporating Service Learning into your course. 6
