About Brianna Crosier
Interview by Alex Blizzard
Major Chemistry
College Arts and Sciences
Accomplishments 2nd Place Poster Presenter - Law, Public Policy, and Education- TTU Undergraduate Research Conference, TTU Noyce Scholarship, TTU Presidential Scholarship
Research Interests Early levels of STEM Education
About the Project
Title The Influence of Informal STEM Education on Overall Student Interest in STEM
Presentation Watch the research video
Mentor Dr. Jerry Dwyer
Curriculum & Instruction, Texas Tech University
Comments
Hi Brianna,
I think this is really interesting research and I love how you are more focused on the teaching of students rather than the grades that they get. How do you plan to introduce this to students and get them to attend consistently rather than sporadically?
Thanks for the compliment! We're now in the second year of after-school STEM clubs, so I've got some experience in keeping them coming! Like I said below, I have to make sure the students are involved in the lesson. That means instead of giving them the answers, they have to find out for themselves. Some of their favorite activities so far have been building towers, catapults, and rainbow fire (guessing which chemicals will turn fire certain colors, and with the middle school students, why this is so). At one point, they even built their own math card game. Basically, make it interesting, and make sure they are involved rather than watching the teacher do it.
This is a really interesting research, I like how this is not focused on performance but rather on teaching kids how to love science and get them involved. This can definitely challenge their creativity. How often do you meet with this students? How do you introduce this program to get students to attend this programs consistently?
Thanks! The clubs meet for one hour after school every week. To get them to attend consistently, we're having to constantly think of new activities that keep their mind and hands busy. For example, the clubs just started last week. The first thing they did was guess what color certain chemicals would turn fire. They absolutely loved it! Basically, the activities have to get them involved with the lesson, asking what they think will happen and letting them explore the possibilities instead of just giving them the answer.
Brianna,
I loved your presentation and getting children interested in STEM at a young age. Do you have any future plans to extend this to high school levels? If so, what kind of projects would you have in mind?
Thank you! Unfortunately, right now I'm focused solely on middle school/elementary at the moment. Hopefully in the future CISER be able to include high school clubs.
How often does the CISER after school program take place? Also, given the statement that both programs are concentrated on minorities, what does the program demographic look like? Are the majority of participants african american or hispanic?
Thanks for your questions! They take place once a week for about an hour after school. Most of the participants are Hispanic, although we do have quite a few African Americans as well.