MEETING TWO GOALS AT ONCE: INTEGRATED SCIENCE STUDENTS HELP EDUCATE THEIR COMMUNITY WHILE PROVIDING OUTREACH IN THE STEM FIELDS

Today many colleges are looking for opportunities to get their students out into their communities to do service related activities. At the same time, those of us working in the STEM fields look for opportunities to encourage students of all ages to embrace and grow in our areas of study.

In order to work towards both of these goals, students in an Integrated Science course for Early Childhood Education majors were required to do an outside teaching activity with a group of elementary or preschool aged students. The activity was required to be based on content from the Earth/Life Integrated Science Course and be presented at an appropriate level for their chosen student group.

As a result of this activity, the Integrated Science students reported that they gained much needed confidence about their chosen profession, built relationships with teachers and schools in their community, and discovered the “fun” in teaching science.