{"id":7175,"date":"2015-03-20T10:47:52","date_gmt":"2015-03-20T14:47:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/?p=7175"},"modified":"2015-03-20T10:47:52","modified_gmt":"2015-03-20T14:47:52","slug":"stem-education-oh-the-places-youll-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/2015\/03\/20\/stem-education-oh-the-places-youll-go\/","title":{"rendered":"STEM education: Oh, the places you’ll go!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Woonsocket High School students spent a day\u00a0in late January at Roger Williams University<\/a>, exploring the inner workings of sheep hearts and the academic opportunities available at the Bristol campus.<\/p>\n

Part of\u00a0Rhode Island NSF EPSCoR outreach programming, the Hands-on Science Experiences<\/a> open\u00a0doors to potential educational and career paths in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.\u00a0The events\u00a0take place year round and throughout the RI NSF EPSCoR community, which counts RWU as one of its nine partner institutions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The group of 20 freshmen, \"IMG_0345\"\"IMG_0333\"sophomores and juniors, 16 girls and four boys, dissected sheep\u00a0hearts under the direction of RWU Adjunct Professor Erin Davis. The students also toured the campus wet lab<\/a> and shellfish hatchery<\/a>, where they viewed\u00a0the millions of newly spawned baby oysters.\u00a0The visit wrapped up with lunch in the RWU cafeteria, a visit with an admissions representative, and a campus tour.<\/p>\n

“Every time we bring students to a campus or out in the field for Hands-on Science Experiences, and we witness the genuine excitement for learning and science discovery, it reinforces the critical importance of our EPSCoR outreach,” says Tim Pelletier, EPSCoR education, outreach and diversity coordinator. “Engaging students with interactive modules makes\u00a0learning meaningful and opens their eyes to the vast opportunities in STEM education and careers.”<\/p>\n

And yet, Pelletier adds, the hands-on modules transcend science and elevate the event to a significant and meaningful experience that holds life-changing potential.<\/p>\n

“The modules stimulate all the senses of the students, who are eager to learn,” Pelletier says. “It’s the touch of the sand, the smell of the ocean; the touch and smell of a heart \u2014 this is what gets kids thinking, thinking about science, becoming involved, seeing themselves as a student, going to college, studying to be a scientist or maybe a teacher. This type of tactile, immersive, hands-on experience makes a difference in\u00a0young lives.”<\/p>\n

Jim Lemire, RI NSF EPSCoR undergraduate coordinator and RWU adjunct professor, biology and marine biology, collaborates\u00a0with Pelletier and Davis to put on the sheep heart dissection lab.<\/p>\n

He, too, see immense value in exposing the students to hands-on experiences that they\u00a0otherwise might not have the chance to enjoy.<\/p>\n

“For this program, in particular, we also want the students to leave with an impression of how cool and exciting science can be \u2013 how many times do you get to hold an actual heart in your hands?!” Lemire says.<\/p>\n

Beyond\u00a0the science, visiting a university campus also plays a key role, Lemire adds: “One of the barriers to pursuing a college degree is unfamiliarity with the college culture and an inability to picture oneself there. By bringing the students onto campus, having them dine in the cafeteria with everyone else, having them speak with the admissions office and get a tour, we hope they can begin to see themselves as a college student.\u00a0 That is a very important first step.”<\/p>\n

RI NSF EPSCoR connects with the students through the Rhode Island Educational Talent Search (ETS),\u00a0which\u00a0serves more than 1,000 low-income middle and high school students who are committed to their education and want to attend college.\u00a0Students must demonstrate the desire and ability to stay on top of their school work by achieving C\u2019s or better and, in exchange, gain guidance and support in pursuit of their college dreams.<\/p>\n

The longstanding collaboration between RI NSF EPSCoR and ETS plays a\u00a0key role in\u00a0the national EPSCoR mission is to expose K-12 students to the STEM\u00a0fields, build a more educated workforce, and enhance job creation.<\/p>\n

Photos: Woonsocket High School students explore\u00a0the circulatory system by dissecting sheep hearts, and then\u00a0tour the Roger Williams University\u00a0campus.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"IMG_0328\" \"IMG_0340\"Story by Amy Dunkle |\u00a0<\/em>ETS photos<\/em><\/p>\n

\"IMG_0327\"\"IMG_0334\"<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0354\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Woonsocket High School students spent a day\u00a0in late January at Roger Williams University, exploring the inner workings of sheep hearts and the academic opportunities available at the Bristol campus. Part of\u00a0Rhode Island NSF EPSCoR outreach programming, the Hands-on Science Experiences open\u00a0doors to potential educational and career paths in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.\u00a0The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[21,1],"tags":[240,261,492,555,600,675],"class_list":["post-7175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-uncategorized","tag-education","tag-epscor","tag-outreach","tag-rhode-island","tag-rwu","tag-stem"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7175\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}