STEM education internship program

Abstract

America's colleges and universities are not producing an adequate amount of K-12 school teachers, particularly secondary school teachers in the high need STEM fields of physics, chemistry, math, and computer science. This shortage have an impact on the quality of STEM education because schools have to accept teachers with less qualifications [2]. This discourages young students from pursuing careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics upon entering college due to limited comprehension and exposure to these subjects [4]. To address this critical need, XXX University in partnership with YYY College and the 6-12 school system designed/developed a comprehensive five week Summer Educational Internship program. This program targets rising college sophomores majoring in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Technology to prepare them for teaching students in grades 6-12. over a 5 week period the students are introduced to a semi-formal education on subjects such as 3D Modeling, Programming, and Robotics. This program also involves high aptitude rising college juniors as student instructors to mentor students as part of an advanced group called Upward Bound. These juniors are advised by a lead instructor to create their lessons and apply them in the classroom. This summer program aims to provide in-class teaching experience to sophomore and junior college students majoring in STEM fields, in the hopes that these students will develop an interest in pursuing a future as a STEM educator. During the five week teaching period, fifteen students (12 from XXX and 3 from YYY) receive a stipend of $1,000 to participate in the summer internship program and work with a professor to prepare and implement their lessons. This paper reports on student teaching, observations, and hands on activities associated with the Upward Bound/UNITE, and Noyce programs.