Developing Teaching Internships for Science and Engineering Undergraduate Students and Project Team Reflection (Evaluation)
- Conference
- Location
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Columbus, Ohio
- Publication Date
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June 24, 2017
- Start Date
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June 24, 2017
- End Date
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June 28, 2017
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Pre-College Engineering Education Division
- Page Count
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12
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--28152
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/28152
- Download Count
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543
Paper Authors
Marian S. Kennedy Clemson University
M.S. Kennedy is an Associate Professor within the Department of Materials Science & Engineering at Clemson University. Her research group focused on the mechanical and tribological characterization of thin films, coatings and biological materials. She also contributes to the engineering education community through her research relating to student identity, motivation and undergraduate research programs.
Lisa Benson Clemson University
Lisa Benson is a Professor of Engineering and Science Education at Clemson University, with a joint appointment in Bioengineering. Her research focuses on the interactions between student motivation and their learning experiences. Her projects involve the study of student perceptions, beliefs and attitudes towards becoming engineers and scientists, and their problem solving processes. Other projects in the Benson group include effects of student-centered active learning, self-regulated learning, and incorporating engineering into secondary science and mathematics classrooms. Her education includes a B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Vermont, and M.S. and Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Clemson University.
Michelle Cook Clemson University
Michelle Cook is an Associate Professor of Science Education in the College of Education at Clemson University.
Leigh Martin Clemson University
Leigh Martin is currently the Executive Director of the Office of Field and Clinical Partnerships and Outreach in Clemson's College of Education. During the length of the reported project, she served as the Program Coordinator, overseeing all aspects of the internship. She has devoted twenty years to the public education system teaching high school, middle school, and serving at the state and university levels. Her research interests include exploring innovative ways to support the learning needs of teachers.
Abstract
The National Science Foundation implemented the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program to encourage science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) majors to transition into K-12 education. One of the aims for grants awarded through this program is to increase the number of current STEM undergraduate majors who are exposed to the teaching profession and who then apply to secondary science or mathematics education certification programs. This paper provides an overview of a paid teaching internship program developed for current STEM undergraduates, the evaluation of the program’s ability to impact the participants’ learning and career plans, and the project team’s insight from their experience running this unique program. This education internship program currently places students with secondary STEM teachers where they first observe and assist in the classroom, and finally, design and teach lessons under supervision. The experiences of approximately 82 interns were probed during interviews with the program evaluator at the end of the respective intern’s semester program (90.1% of all the interns participated in exit interviews). Questions asked during the semi-structured exit interviews were designed to gather information about students’ experiences, gauge their expectations for the program, document what students learned within the program, and monitor the impact of the internship experience on their careers. While only a subset of students reported that they definitely wanted to teach and were looking into graduate programs in education, other interns stated that they would consider teaching at some point within their careers.
Kennedy, M. S., & Benson, L., & Cook, M., & Martin, L. (2017, June), Developing Teaching Internships for Science and Engineering Undergraduate Students and Project Team Reflection (Evaluation) Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. 10.18260/1-2--28152
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