Teacher training pairs with STEM projects

The University of North Georgia's (UNG) Summer Scholars STEM Institute served as a pivotal experience this summer for pre-service teachers in the College of Education to teach alongside experienced mentor teachers who supported them. It also inspired rising fourth-graders through eighth-graders with hands-on learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Mary Casillas, a senior from Gainesville, Georgia, pursuing a degree in secondary education with a major in biology, will be part of UNG's Teacher Candidate Residency Program (TCRP) at World Language Academy in Gainesville, Georgia, this fall.

In TCRP, seniors are full-time teachers of record with their own classrooms, receiving at least half the salary of a full-time educator. They are not eligible for full salary because they lack a baccalaureate degree, but they receive benefits, including admission to teacher retirement. Casillas, who has served as a paraprofessional for five years at Johnson High School in Oakwood, Georgia, was grateful that Summer Scholars STEM Institute gave her practice leading a classroom ahead of her TCRP year. 

"We get the experience of being lead teachers with mentors," Casillas said.

She is hopeful she can encourage younger generations and call out their potential.

"When I was younger, I grew to see the profession as something I wanted to do one day because I had science teachers who believed in me when I thought I knew nothing about science," Casillas said. "Having those teachers growing up really made an impact on me that I knew moving forward with my life and my career, that's something I wanted to do."

Michelle Ramirez, a senior from Cornelia, Georgia, pursuing a degree in middle grades education, said Summer Scholars STEM Institute has reminded her the importance of flexibility in lesson plans if certain portions run longer or shorter than expected.

"You need to have a backup plan," Ramirez said.

United Way of Hall County gave $15,000 to support Summer Scholars STEM Institute and Steps to College. Summer Scholars was held from June 1-24.

Dr. Max Vazquez Dominguez, a professor of science education, served as director of the institute. He said the summer program allowed students more project-based learning than the regular academic year usually allows.

"In science, they learn about nature. In engineering, they need to solve a problem," Vazquez Dominguez said.

Bryan Lopez, a rising eighth-grader at Gainesville Middle School, and Christian Cordero, a rising eighth-grader at World Language Academy, were both in their fifth year of Summer Scholars STEM Institute.

"We get a preview here of what we're going to learn in eighth grade," Lopez said.

One of this year's projects included creating an electromagnet and seeing how many paperclips it could pick up. Each grade level learned about two Georgia science standards for the upcoming school year.

"I like the projects we do here," Cordero said. "I also enjoy being on a college campus."

For Fatima Ramirez, a rising eighth-grader at South Habersham Middle School in Cornelia, Georgia, learning about engineering and working on projects were some of the main perks of Summer Scholars STEM Institute.

"It's a great learning opportunity, and we get to meet new people and make friends," Ramirez said.

Vazquez Dominguez said the institute helped pre-service teachers in a variety of ways.

"Pre-service teachers learned how to use their language skills to deliver the content to bilingual students," he said. "They also needed to collaborate closely with each other to plan and implement the classroom activities."