Grant to fund STEM program's expansion

Hands-on projects focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) as well as social studies and language arts have always been part of the Summer Scholars Institute (SSI) at the University of North Georgia (UNG). Now, STEM for English learners will be the focus.

The academic achievement program will be recast as the Summer Scholars STEM Institute thanks to a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant. Five UNG College of Education faculty members were awarded $299,046 for three years to retool and expand the program.

"The day I realized that we got the grant, I was so happy," Dr. Max Vazquez Dominguez, associate professor of science education in UNG's Department of Middle Grades, Secondary and Science Education. "One of my main goals is to continue working with the Latinx community using bilingualism and science."

Vazquez Dominguez and the College of Education's Dr. Romola Bernard, Dr. Sheri Hardee, Dr. Lauren Johnson, and Dr. Winnie Namatovu have a big task before them. They must recruit about 20 UNG students pursuing degrees in elementary and special education and middle grades to remodel and implement the program. Hardee, dean of the College of Education, said the pre-service teachers will receive a stipend for participating as co-educators and co-researchers.

Vazquez Dominguez believes this and other benefits will interest future educators.

"These preservice teachers need to have the tools to work with diverse populations," Vazquez Dominguez said. "The Summer Scholars STEM Institute will be a great opportunity for them to acquire and practice those skills by putting them to use in this immersive environment."

The recruits will spend 10 days in May 2022 developing the curriculum and constructing the hands-on projects before testing them on each other, Vazquez Dominguez said. In June, the preservice teachers will execute their lesson plans for the four-week Summer Scholars STEM Institute. The revamped program will be evaluated at the end.

"The NSF grant allows us to focus on assessment and gain a better understanding of the application of culturally sustaining pedagogies to STEM content for English learners," Hardee said.

While the preservice teachers benefit from the experience, the Summer Scholars STEM Institute participants will reap rewards, too.

"This program will expose the English language learners in our community to engineering and science concepts using the current theories and practices in science," Vazquez Dominguez said. "Research has shown that we focus on science but not engineering in elementary and middle schools. We want to emphasize engineering, because engineers are problem-solvers. We need more of them."

More elementary and middle school students will be introduced to the concepts and practices thanks to the NSF grant. In previous years, Summer Scholars served about 50 students in seventh through 10th grades. Next summer, the program will serve 100 students and include fourth-, fifth-, sixth, seventh, and eighth-graders from Gainesville City and Hall County school systems.

All students eligible for the Summer Scholars STEM will be English language learners or bilingual.

"An emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion is a cornerstone of the College of Education, and the NSF grant further solidifies this foundation and allows us to continue to expand that work," Hardee said.