i²STEMe hosts STEM experience for local students

December 11, 2017

[caption id="attachment_7894" align="aligncenter" width="487"] Instructional technology faculty member Lucas Jensen, Ph.D., (left) works with students in the College of Education’s Innovation Studio.[/caption] Faculty from various disciplines on Georgia Southern University’s campus participated in the fall 2017 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Experience hosted by the College of Education’s (COE) outreach center, the Institute for Interdisciplinary STEM Education (i²STEMe), on Nov. 3. Lisa Stueve, Ed.D., the Institute’s outreach specialist, explained that STEM Experiences are “interactive hands-on lab experiences for K-12 students in STEM situations campus-wide” with faculty often participating from several of the University’s colleges. “We are hopeful that the experience will support STEM career engagement for students, encourage the state’s best and brightest to pursue opportunities at Georgia Southern University, and expose young scholars to STEM industry standards and best practices through practical application models,” said Stueve. For the fall STEM Experience, i²STEMe hosted students from the Effingham College and Career Academy. Participants attended interactive sessions on topics including: anatomy and physiology, programming with MATLAB, scientific studies in the herbarium, robotics, exploration of the Georgia Southern Museum, chemistry and an introduction to the COE’s Innovation Studio. “This year's STEM Experience was engaging and enriching for our students,” said Michelle Thompson, Ed.D., director of scientific research and Advanced Placement (AP) chemistry at the Effingham College and Career Academy. “Students left Georgia Southern yearning to learn more about programs such as robotics and dreaming of having an Innovation Studio of our own. Without hesitation I would recommend this experience to other schools. There is a variety of topics presented that do not always find a way to intersect into the typical curriculum taught in schools.” [caption id="attachment_7895" align="alignright" width="205"] Student feels temperature of test tube after experience led by chemistry assistant faculty member Eric Johnson, Ph.D., (pictured on left).[/caption] Sessions were collaborated and hosted by:

• College of Health and Human Sciences faculty Diana Sturges, M.D.
• College of Engineering and Information Technology faculty Rocio Alba-Flores, Ph.D., Rami Haddad, Ph.D., Fernando Rios-Gutierrez, Ph.D.
• College of Science and Mathematics John Schenk, Ph.D., Eric Johnson, Ph.D., Ria Ramoutar, Ph.D., Jim LoBue, Ph.D.
• Georgia Southern Museum Director Brent Tharp, Ph.D.
• COE faculty Lucas Jensen, Ph.D.

STEM Experiences are hosted once per semester (spring and fall). The events are open to any school in the state for participation; however limited space is available for each event. Schools are charged a fee of $35 per student. The fee covers all activities at the event including admission to the University's Museum, Botanic Gardens and Center for Wildlife Education, and consumables for lab experiences. The fee also covers lunch for the day. Students attending STEM Experiences must be accompanied by a school-system-appointed chaperone, and a minimum of one chaperone per 10 students is recommended according to Stueve. There is no limit or charge for chaperones. Stueve said sessions vary each semester based on the availability of faculty; however, they can attempt to tailor sessions to a school system’s requests. “Historically, we have had a great number of sessions and opportunities thanks to our partnering faculty across campus,” said Stueve. “The school system can have the flexibility to schedule their students according to their interests in the sessions that we are offering each semester.” The next STEM Experience is scheduled for Friday, March 30, 2018. For more information about the spring STEM Experience, contact Stueve at lstueve@georgiasouthern.edu or visit http://coe.georgiasouthern.edu/stem/. Georgia Southern University, a public Carnegie Doctoral/Research University founded in 1906, offers 118 degree programs serving 20,418 students. Through eight colleges, the University offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement. Georgia Southern is recognized for its student-centered and hands-on approach to education. Visit GeorgiaSouthern.edu.