Saturday, May 18, 2013

Blog 25: Mentorship

Literal 


Interpretive
What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

The most important thing I gained from my experiences mentoring at Ekstrand Elementary school was the feedback and excitement I recieved from the students I worked with. Every time I would walk into the classroom, children would exclaim, "Mr. Joseph!" and I would continue to be barraged with questions if we were going to be doing more science expirements; or what we would be talking about; or what else new I would be teaching them about. The excitement these students showed me day-in and day-out revealed to me the true potential we have for a strong STEM workforce in the very near future. 
Mentoring at Ekstrand and getting real-world experience related to STEM truly helped me to solidify the entirety of my project in my mind. Forming my EQ around a real STEM issue and finding solutions to that issue that I tested out in the classroom helped me to understand that my project was real; and that I was helping a real cause. 

Applied
How has what you’ve done helped you to answer your EQ?  Please explain.

As I mentioned previously, I formed my EQ around the issue that there are simply not enough students pursuing STEM careers after college. I then dedicated my project to finding solutions to this issue; finding ways to get kids interested in STEM so that they might pursue STEM later on. Throughout the year, I discovered several ways to get kids interested; from hands-on learning, to a strong educational foundation, to parental encouragement. Mentoring at Ekstrand, and having an extremely close relationship with my mentor, allowed me to "test out" these answers. Throughout my mentorship, I was able to work closely with the students; often participating with them in science experiments and STEM activities. I was able to see that hands-on learning is truly a great way to get kids interested in STEM. I was also able to see that a strong education can get kids interested in STEM. I feel that without the opportunity to experience these encounters first-hand, my project, and my answers, would not be as strong, nor would I feel as confident in them. 

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