|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Outcomes, Challenges, and Resources
Outcomes
- We have established a pipeline of mostly minority and disadvantaged students toward careers in health care and biomedical science. We are seeing the same students who started in the Saturday Science Academy as middle school students participating in our high school programs. And most importantly, our students are graduating from high school and going on to college. We have made a career in science an attainable goal for students who might otherwise never have considered it.
- We have introduced whole families to the variety of science and have demystified it for them. Our students and their families gain a greater understanding of the scientific world, scientists, and the scientific method which makes them better, more informed citizens.
- We have become a resource for others who are trying to promote an awareness of science and its importance in the lives of all people.
Challenges
- We are still having a problem disseminating information and applications. How do we make sure that all interested students receive and complete applications?
- We are trying to track all of our program graduates, but have difficulty finding everyone. We work with 7th and 8th grade students from underserved populations. They move a lot and often have different last names than their parent(s). Also, in Cincinnati, students can change schools every year within the system if they so choose and they often do. We maintain a database, send out birthday and holiday cards and try to track them through the "grapevine" but we inevitably lose some. How do others track a young student population. We would really like to know how many pass the Ohio Proficiency Test in Science - a graduation requirement, and if and where they attend college. We have a sense that the vast majority of our graduates do graduate from high school, but we would like hard data.
- We have a large Appalachian population in Cincinnati. The Appalachian students are the ones who are most likely to drop out or miss sessions. How have others worked with this population?
Resources
- How to organize a Saturday Science Academy. We can share our experiences in organizing a successful science enrichment outreach program for middle school students in an inner city school system. Direct family involvement is required and is the key to the success of the program. We have made the Saturday Science Academy as user friendly as possible, offering child care, food, parking and a modest stipend to the participating families. Admission is by application and is competitive. The Academy meets on 13 Saturdays thoughout the year from July through May and explores in a laboratory setting a wide variety of science-related topics.
- Hands-on science enrichment curriculum and learning modules from Saturday Science Academy. We have developed over the past 7 1/2 years a variety of lesson plans and learning modules.
- Working with inner city families. We have developed expertise in getting inner city families involved with their children's science related activities on a continuing basis. We have also had some success in
tracking these students and retaining them in our science pipeline programs.
Back to University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
|
|
| | |