Northwest Nations UPWARD Bound

By Allison R. Stormo

In the collective mind of the Northwest, simmers memories of the catastrophic eruption of Mount St. Helens in May 1980. The eruption south of Seattle, Wash., and the avalanche and ash that followed, killed dozens of people and destroyed highways, homes and infrastructure. It sent ash over Idaho and as far east as Montana.

Now, 33 years later, high school students with parents who may have lived through the eruption spent six weeks in a program at the University of Idaho learn about volcanology and math, and see first-hand in Hawaii how volcanoes behave.

Last summer, 24 high school students from the Coeur d’Alene and Yakama tribes participated in the Northwest Nations Upward Bound summer program.

Northwest Nations Upward Bound is a college preparatory program funded through the Federal TRiO Programs that serves students from lowincome households who are first-generation college students. TRiO programs work with students from disadvantaged backgrounds to help create pathways to college and encourage students to pursue a higher education. Nations is one of several TRiO programs at U-Idaho housed within the College of Education.

Each summer, Nations brings about 20 students to the Moscow campus as part of a six-week education program.

Last summer, additional funds allowed two dozen high school students to participate in the summer program in which housing, food, travel and a spending stipend is subsidized. The students spent four weeks studying and learning with hands-on projects on math and volcanology followed by two weeks in Hawaii putting the science to work.

“The summer program helps them envision going to college. They get to feel what it would be like,” said Tasha Dev, interim director and coordinator of Nations.

Dev said the summer program also allows them to shadow U-Idaho students and have a strong interaction in the university. Giving students the chance to connect and know people opens more doors to a higher education.

“It is about helping them understanding they have skills and abilities to go to college,” said David Alexander, adjunct professor in mechanical engineering. “College is a pathway to greater things.”

Alexander taught the math portion of the program. He guided students through the building of solar car kits. The students then tested for variables to see which went the farthest or fastest. They used math to apply the practical knowledge of the gear ratios, how to position cars in relationship to the sun when racing them and how wheel sizes can effect the speed.

“The biggest part is helping them understand an education — which includes a math education — puts them in a position to do what they want to do and have more choices,” Alexander said.

Manuel Equihua, a senior at White Swan High School, said beyond opening his eyes to more choices, Nations allows him to learn more skills on staying focused, social awareness and how the knowledge could help him in his roles in student groups such as Science Club, Future Farmers of America and Associated Student Body.

“I believe that students everywhere should be aware of the life changing opportunities that Upward Bound has,” the 17-year-old said.

Lakeside High senior Kaitlyn Rhea, echoed Manuel’s thought.

“It gave me the final push that I needed so that I will make it to college,” said the 17-year-old Plummer girl. “It gives you the opportunities and motivation to go to college.”

Kaitlyn is planning on attending U-Idaho in the fall to pursue a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and health and has strong interest the College of Education’s master of athletic training 3+2 program, which will allow her to graduate with a master’s degree with just one extra year of post-baccalaureate work.

Erika Rader, doctoral candidate in geology, also played a critical role in opening students’ minds to new subjects, often with hands-on projects. Rader taught the basics of geology in the summer volcanology class. She linked terminology with pictures and footage of explosions at Mount St. Helens and in Hawaii to give the students a new perspective on hazards of an active volcano and what experts can do to minimize risk to lives.

Enter the lava cake—of sorts. Rader put the students to work in the kitchen to build a “volcano” from a cupcake. Each layer of frosting or embellishment of cookies, sprinkles and other assorted treats represented a different eruption product such as ash or lava. She combined footage and power point simulations that provided data for students to evaluate the situation.

“The students had to give me hazard reports and make determinations if the eruption was dangerous and whether to evacuate,” Rader said.

Students used the knowledge during their two weeks in Hawaii to identify types of lava and how volcanoes in Hawaii erupt and behave differently than the one in their backyard.

“The students were able to look at the environment and make their own conclusions,” Rader said. “They even went further in Hawaii than in the classroom and started instigating questions between each other.”

During the two weeks, the students stayed at Kilauea Military Camp and Resort in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The summer program often is the first time students have had the opportunity to travel, Dev said.

A tour guide from Hawaii spent time on campus to prepare students for travel by discussing what students might expect on site. Normand Dufersne, who owns a farm in Hawaii, gave the students lessons in cultural relevance, language and customs, and emphasized the connection of science to Hawaii’s native culture.

Given that the students come from a Native American background, seeing the connection of culture to science in an authentic environment gives the student the hands-on learning opportunities that they can connect to on a personal level.

“The students are not used to hands-on education at home, and this program allows them to learn without realizing it,” Dev said.

While Manuel has been involved in Nations since his freshman year, last year was his first involvement in the summer program. He said seeing the culture in Hawaii was amazing and the summer program helped him learn to be a better person.

“Now that I have been through it, I only have one regret — which is not being fully involved in the program because I have learned an abundance of information that will help me in my future.”

$5 million National Science Foundation Grant

Helps Train Math Teachers

Anne Adams, assistant professor of mathematics education, is continuing her work on a $5 million grant called Making Mathematics Reasoning Explicit (MMRE). It is a joint effort between University of Idaho and Washington State University. The funding from the National Science Foundation is bringing 72 teachers from eastern Washington and northern Idaho to WSU over a three-year period for further math teaching training.

“The project allows us to provide support for teachers as they move to teaching the new Common Core Mathematics standards, which require them to engage students in problem solving and reasoning about mathematical relationships,” Adams said. “Such reasoning leads to deeper understanding both of mathematics and of the work mathematicians do.”

Each cohort of 24 teachers from fourth to 12th grades go through a three-year process. In the first year, they spend three weeks in the summer on the WSU campus to work on changing their own style of teaching. In year two, they work with willing teachers in their own schools and in the third year, they invite more teachers and even those who are less willing participants to learn a new style. The training focuses on helping teachers learn new ways to show students how math is useful and teaching problem solving, reasoning and critical thinking instead of just teaching procedures. The MMRE team conducts a one-day meeting offsite during the school year with multiple other half-day meetings during the year in different parts of Idaho and Washington to accommodate outof-area teachers.

This project represents a close partnership between higher education professionals and school professionals. Regional teachers and administrators are working with university faculty to develop courses and allow workshops for the project. The project also allows university faculty to conduct research about how students engage in reasoning and justification about mathematics, and how teachers develop ways to help students.