“Meet the Scientist” Showcase at the Mayborn Museum was a big success for the nine students, pictured with Dr. Sterrett and the Mayborn’s April Love.
School of Education faculty Dr. Bill Sterrett, Dr. Rishi Sriram, and Dr. Sandi Cooper partnered with Baylor engineering and physics faculty to provide a 10-week summer experience for undergraduate students focused on collaborating with the Baylor Point-of-Needs Innovation (PONI) Center, Baylor’s Mayborn Museum, and regional partners as a part of a large effort focused on Friction Stir Additive Manufacturing (FSAM) research at Baylor.
Lead Principal Investigator and PONI Center Director, Dr. Paul Allison, invited Drs. Sterrett, Sriram, and Cooper to collaborate as Co-PIs in a $4.3-million effort funded by the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences that focused on providing the 10 students with a true Baylor experience on campus, including living on campus.
The REU team at the Mayborn with Dr. Sandi Cooper, Dr. Rishi Sriram, April Love, and Dr. Bill Sterrett
The SOE faculty led students in acquiring communication and presentation skills in collaboration with April Love, volunteer manager of the Mayborn Museum, in a “Research Experiences for Undergraduates” (REU) workshop approach that centered on communication strategies, engagement training, and team activity planning workshops. The efforts culminated in an REU Scholars “Meet the Scientist Showcase” that allowed the 10 students — who came to Baylor from Puerto Rico, Virginia, and Texas — to apply concepts ranging from materials science to aerospace and mechanical engineering projects by giving presentations to visitors at the Mayborn Museum. Projects ranged from working with friction stir additive manufacturing equipment to sustainable recycling of aluminum alloy manufacturing applications.
PONI Center Director Paul Allison noted the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration between engineering and education faculty and students, stating that “as we produce the next generation of scientists and engineers solving global challenges, it is important for them to learn communication skills along with technical skills from an interdisciplinary team of faculty, so they are able to make a difference in the world.”
Dr. Sriram led workshops with the students each Thursday.
A major co-curricular theme of the overall program was a focus on talent development. Dr. Sriram, associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and a researcher on talent development, led the students in weekly evening workshops and book studies, discussing topics including the origins of “talent,” developing a growth mindset, the role of practice in skill development, and the science behind brain development.
“Research on college student success emphasizes the vital role of mentorship in helping students overcome obstacles in their educational journey,” Dr. Sriram noted. “Our program not only taught students new skills but also equipped them to understand how to reach their goals.
The SOE faculty additionally led a four-week training to guide the REU students in creating meaningful presentations of their work to non-scientist audiences, including young children. Workshop topics included the importance of reaching and teaching stakeholders, how to teach a science concept to elementary students, general communication studies and exercises, and specific planning of presentations.
With an expertise in elementary education of science and mathematics, Dr. Cooper, professor in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction and associate dean of undergraduate education, helped the students translate complicated concepts into lessons for younger students.
Dr. Sterrett, professor and chair of the Department of Educational Leadership, engaged with the students throughout the Mayborn experiences focusing on outreach through effective communication and also hosted the students at his home for dinner.
You have to really understand the science to explain it to a kindergartener!
The “Meet the Scientist” event on July 17 at the Mayborn Museum was a success, with presentations to dozens of visitors, including students in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten who were part of the SOE’s Math for Early Learners Academy (MELA), directed by Dr. Cooper.
Dr. Sterrett said, “The REU students were able to create meaningful presentations that synthesized how to communicate their projects and lessons they had learned to a broader audience.”
He said that, during the group reflection conversations after the event, it was clear that the planning and intentionality enhanced the experience for the REU students. “Importantly, the students saw the value of being able to ‘tell their story’ and convey the core — and the merit — of a project to a member of the public, whether that’s an elementary student, a potential hiring official, or someone like an advisory board member,” he explained.
This effort has led to additional collaborations, including national grant proposals led by Dr. Sriram and Dr. Ning Zhang, associate professor of mechanical engineering in Baylor’s School of Engineering and Computer Science. Dr. Sterrett said he is hopeful that these efforts will continue to bring education and STEM efforts together and open up new opportunities for external funding across programs, ultimately resulting in greater access and opportunities for students at Baylor.
See photos from the summer workshops at the FACEBOOK ALBUM.
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