Changing the Face of Science: STEM field Biography Projects
Student curiosity, choice, and creativity will drive this project as they connect to the diverse people that contribute to the varied fields of science! Students will research fields of study and persons of interest, in some cases conduct personal interviews, to share the experiences of accomplished professionals. Final presentations are completely up to the student and will be shared with an audience of their peers and faculty.
By sharing these stories, students learn about our world, see themselves reflected, and are inspired to learn more. They hear great lessons of wonder, compassion, challenge, resilience, perseverance, and success. All this inspires the next generation of problem-solvers!
Photograph: Kia Jai, WA '16, interviews Dr. Kevin Carroll, the inventor of the prosthetic for a dolphin (made famous by the movie Dolphin Tale).
Objectives: Students will be able to
Digital Citizenship and 21st century skills: Throughout this research project, students will learn:
By sharing these stories, students learn about our world, see themselves reflected, and are inspired to learn more. They hear great lessons of wonder, compassion, challenge, resilience, perseverance, and success. All this inspires the next generation of problem-solvers!
Photograph: Kia Jai, WA '16, interviews Dr. Kevin Carroll, the inventor of the prosthetic for a dolphin (made famous by the movie Dolphin Tale).
Objectives: Students will be able to
- Realize and recognize scientists can be and are from all races, genders, ethnicities, religions, ages, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
- Discover the extensive and exciting career options in the STEM field on Sciencebuddies.org (or check out this link)
- Explain how the time period in which a scientist lives influences the development of scientific discoveries and advancement.
- Share the stories of successes and challenges in others' lives.
- Properly use and cite the internet as a reliable source for information.
Digital Citizenship and 21st century skills: Throughout this research project, students will learn:
- Internet safety, internet ethics, appropriate group and online communication, and citing sources to respect the intellectual property of others (avoid plagarism!).
- Proper citation of resources using Citation Machine.
- How to critically evaluate web content to be sure the information they use is reputable and reliable.
- How to collaborate with others, communicate findings publicly, and present a story using a unique format of choice.
- Use organizers to gather their research and to set and track SMART Goals for long-term projects.
Other resources:Connecting Students to STEM careers by Camille Cole
Great questions by StoryCorpThe Faces of Sciences: African-Americans in scienceFor girls in scienceWomen in Science before the 21st centuryTechYes TLC |
Bernard Harris Presents at PoCCI had the great pleasure of meeting Dr. Bernard Harris, the first African-American to walk in space! He presented about his experience and the work of his education foundation at PoCC Houston in December 2012. Earlier that day, I presented the STEM Biography project about students learning from pioneers like him!
Mr. West Gary, chemist from Momar, visited our classroom after one of my students, McGarrah, presented his story as a STEM professional. Thank you Mr. Gary for connecting real world experience with this important message for my students!
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