Inspiring passion for science-related fields in the next generation of scholar

Martin, Abigail

English

eGrove (Univ. of Mississippi)

University of Mississippi eGrove University of Mississippi News 12-12-2022 Growing High School STEM Outreach Program Led by Graduate Student Abigail Martin Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/umnews Recommended Citation Martin, Abigail, "Growing High School STEM Outreach Program Led by Graduate Student" (2022). University of Mississippi News. 2227. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/umnews/2227 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Mississippi News by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact egrove@olemiss.edu. Search this website … SearchUM doctoral student Savannah Draud conducts research in the Department of Biology. Draud, who teachesintroductory biology labs, also works with Oxford-area high school students to increase their science literacy.Submitted photoGrowing High School STEM Outreach Program Led byGraduate StudentInspiring passion for science-related fields in the next generation of scholarsDECEMBER 12, 2022 BY ABIGAIL MARTINOXFORD, Miss. – Savannah Draud, a doctoral student in biology at the University of Mississippi, isspending time at local high schools to help increase science literacy in an effort to inspire students tofurther their education and foster a love of science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects.The Long Island, New York, native, who teaches introductory biology labs at UM, noticed that herstudents were having issues with an assignment that asked them to read and summarize a scientificpaper.“I noticed that my students were struggling with that project because they’ve never seen a scientificpaper before, and reading that kind of literature is a lot different than reading a normal book,” Draud said.That observation is what guides the aspiring college professor’s lectures at the high schools, where shespeaks to pre-AP biology, AP biology, human anatomy and physiology, and chemistry classes.“My idea is to go to the high schools here and teach biology classes scientific literacy skills – how toread these kinds of papers and then also how to have discussions about those papers,” she said. “Thestudents can ask about anything – it can range from the specific paper we’re talking about to issues ofgender or underrepresented communities.“Studying science can lead to good scientific and philosophical discussions.”The talks pique the interest of high school students because they allow the students to explore thingsthey’re curious about.“Just last week, I had one group of students that were excited to ask me the most random biologyquestions,” Draud said. “They were shooting off random questions like, ‘Oh, what do you think goesthrough the mind of a bear when it decides to attack you?’ and ‘Do jellyfish count as a real animal?’“I could tell that they were interested and actually listening to what Ihad to say when I was explaining it through a scientific lens.”Draud invites her Ole Miss peers to join her in the classroom so thatstudents can hear from a variety of research perspectives.Read the story …Read the story …Follow us on socialCampus BriefsStudents Learn ‘Real Politics’ inWashington, D.C., Winter SessionOXFORD, Miss. – Eleven University ofMississippi students spent their winterbreak learning about the people who workbehind the scenes of the Americangovernment in Washington, D.C. Lead byJonathan Klingler, assistant professor ofpolitical science, the students of Pol 391:Applied Politics met not with candidates,but with the people who make candidates’More Posts from this CategoryThank You To OurDonorsYoung Alumna Gives Back to Schoolof AccountancyOXFORD, Miss. – Stephanie JenningsTeague, of Chicago, sees her commitmentof $100,000 to the Patterson School ofAccountancy‘s new building at theUniversity of Mississippi as a means ofsaying “thank you.” “It is a way to show asmall token of my appreciation to OleMiss, the faculty and staff, and theaccountingMore Posts from this CategoryOle Miss In the NewsReuters: Keep an Eye on the MoneySupplyU.S. inflation roller coaster prompts freshlook at long-ignored money supply ByMichael S. Derby NEW YORK – Theamount of money sloshing around the U.S.economy shrank last year for the first timeon record, a development that someeconomists believe bolsters the case forU.S. inflation pressures continuing toabate. The Federal Reserve’sNews Releases UM COVID-19 Video Gallery University Communications Ole Miss Homepage Ole Miss News BlogFacebookTwitterLin edInEmailCopyLinkSMSPrintFriendlySharFacebookTwitterInstagramLinkedInYouTubeChannelSavannah Draud works withOxford-area high school studentsto increase their science literacyin hopes of inspiring them topursue careers in STEM fields.Submitted photo“It is like a tiered mentorship program, where people from all differentlevels studying science come and talk to the students about whatthey do,” she said. “A lot of my fellow Ph.D. students and master’sstudents have their own research published already, so I ask them tocome in and talk about their research so that the high schoolstudents have a chance to talk to the actual scientists who do thework.”Draud’s enthusiasm for science shows through her lectures andstudents look forward to her visits, said Jeana Noble, biology teacherat Oxford High School.“Not only were my students able to ‘drop their shoulders’ a bit asshe simplified the process of dissecting a scientific article, but shealso gave them real-world connections,” Noble said. “Her personalexperiences of success and failure taught them that you can learnas much from failing as succeeding. What an awesome opportunityfor my students.”Creating and maintaining without any funding is an impressiveachievement for a doctoral student, said Sixue Chen, chair of the UMDepartment of Biology. Chen and Draud have been working on ways to expand the program’steachers, funding and reach moving forward.“As one of the nation’s poorest states, Mississippi has a large population living in poverty and foodinsecurity,” Chen said. “The disproportionally affected people are often underrepresented minorities anddisadvantaged communities.“One effective way to lift people out of poverty is pursuing higher education – getting more and more highschool students excited about science and wanting to attend college is life-changing for many people,and thus, is especially important for Mississippians’ future.“My dream is to have an inspiring young scientist like Savannah in every Mississippi school.”FILED UNDER: BIOLOGY, NEWS RELEASESRead the story …More Posts from this CategoryRetu rn  to  to p  o f  p a ge Copyright © 2023 · Th e Un iversity  o f  M ississ ip p i

Growing High School STEM Outreach Program Led by Graduate Student

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3226&context=umnews

Growing High School STEM Outreach Program Led by Graduate Student

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

eGrove (Univ. of Mississippi)