Summer Science Academy in Chemistry as a Gateway to STEM for Matriculating First-Generation and Other Underrepresented Students

Zhao, Meishan

doi:10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00950

Cited by 5 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…2 In addition, such summer workshops provide an opportunity for female and minority students to enter the sciences, including in workshops that target high school students 3 and engage them in community-oriented outreach work. 4,5 There are certainly many examples of content-oriented summer bridge programs, especially between the end of high school and the beginning of college. In some cases, these are aimed at preparatory work and mirror traditional courses.…”

Section: Precollege Workhopsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This approach resulted in significant shifts in overall student confidence, preparation for general chemistry, and the sense of belonging in STEM. 5 Preparatory chemistry classes are another type of summer workshop. Some are designed for students who do not place in general chemistry after completing a chemistry placement exam; others teach students concepts for a class often viewed as a gatekeeper toward student advancement, such as organic chemistry.…”

Section: Precollege Workhopsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Remarkably, we are only aware of a single report of such a workshop aimed at students who are not yet matriculated at a four-year institution, reported from Occidental College in 1991 . In addition, such summer workshops provide an opportunity for female and minority students to enter the sciences, including in workshops that target high school students and engage them in community-oriented outreach work. , …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More recently, a report on the Science Academy in Chemistry Program at the University of Chicago emphasized connecting chemistry concepts to cultural, personal, and geographic experiences. This approach resulted in significant shifts in overall student confidence, preparation for general chemistry, and the sense of belonging in STEM …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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CoLab: A Workshop-Based Undergraduate Research Experience for Entering College Students

et al. 2022

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The goal of undergraduate chemistry laboratories is to allow students to learn about chemical systems and key laboratory skills. They should then apply this knowledge to solve problems and connect macroscopic observations in the laboratory with those occurring at the submicroscopic level. Unfortunately, these needs are not met through traditional confirmation laboratories. Therefore, many chemistry instructors are turning toward research-based laboratories and course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). There are also many cases where summer workshops, often with nontraditional pedagogy, are used for students. This article describes the STEM CoLab Program, a novel type of summer workshop that seeks to build student chemistry knowledge and skills in research and presentation at the beginning of their college work. This program uses the principles of CUREs for students who are just entering the university, mostly as freshmen. Several different phenomena have been investigated during the program. In this paper, we report the overall work of the program from 2016 through 2021 and provide additional details on the program's implementation in 2020 and 2021 when students conducted their work from home, using a combination of a take home research kit for studying salivary amylase "in vitro" and computer-based visualizations of amylaseinhibitor interactions "in silico" using PyMOL and online docking tools.

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Section: Precollege Workhopsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Precollege Workhopsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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CoLab: A Workshop-Based Undergraduate Research Experience for Entering College Students

et al. 2022

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“…MS differs from other typical science initiatives − offered to preuniversity students since it comprises both theoretic and laboratorial activities and it is held during the school year rather than during the holidays. Additionally, as will be discussed in detail, it nourishes the interaction of the participants with university professors, academic and industrial scientists, as well as PhD, MSc, and BSc chemistry students.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Preuniversity Initiative to Motivate Students to Pursue Chemistry Higher Education

et al. 2023

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Molecular School (MS) is an extracurricular initiative intended to show relevant and complex concepts of chemical sciences to precollege students. The main goal is to motivate the participants to expand their awareness of chemical sciences and to acknowledge its relevance in everyday life, in order to stimulate the students to engage in chemistry undergraduate degrees. Here, we address the successful case of MS, implemented in Portugal, where recently, the universities have been facing significant difficulties in attracting new students to join chemistry-related courses. We report the first three editions of this free of cost preuniversity school, whose main subject is chemistry. All editions were held in the University of Coimbra, Portugal, and organized by PhD students of the department of chemistry of this institution. The three editions are discussed here, with particular focus on the last edition. Several participants ultimately chose chemistry BSc degrees to continue their education, which substantiates the positive outreach of this initiative. We believe MS can be replicated, adapted, and improved in other contexts and countries to increase the number of students enrolling chemistry university degrees.

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A Cocurricular Context-Based Enrichment Program to Enhance Scientific Skills Development

Nixon,

Crabb,

Seery

2024

J. Chem. Educ.

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We describe the implementation of an optional, noncredit bearing, context-based enrichment program delivered in a predominantly asynchronous manner over summer break. The program was designed around a series of context-based investigations related to real-world applications, to provide students with an additional opportunity to develop their scientific skills (investigative, data analysis, communication skills) and technical awareness of experimental techniques as well as extend their scientific learning beyond that in their qualification. Students completed three to four investigations with an optional poster activity. We discuss the general design principles of the enrichment program as it has developed over the last four years, detailing the structure and means of engagement for our students, who are typically part-time learners balancing other work, home, and life commitments. We were particularly interested in the student experience and perceived benefits of this enrichment program. We consider the evaluation of a recent iteration of the program to explore this and uncovered positive sentiments from students in relation to both scientific skills as well as broader themes relating to completing learning activities outside the taught curriculum.

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Summer Science Academy in Chemistry as a Gateway to STEM for Matriculating First-Generation and Other Underrepresented Students

Cited by 5 publications

References 43 publications

CoLab: A Workshop-Based Undergraduate Research Experience for Entering College Students

CoLab: A Workshop-Based Undergraduate Research Experience for Entering College Students

A Preuniversity Initiative to Motivate Students to Pursue Chemistry Higher Education

A Cocurricular Context-Based Enrichment Program to Enhance Scientific Skills Development

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