As educators, empirical research shows us that individuals who are a part of underrepresented populations and have a mentor of similar gender/ethnic background tend to seek higher level education in STEM fields, which then allows for access to higher level STEM jobs. Therefore, Kearny Digital Media and Design teachers in the 11th grade decided to develop a project to provide their students with opportunities to develop relationships with women and other minorities in STEM with the hopes that they will ultimately be more apt to consider STEM careers.The interdisciplinary project entitled: “STEM Stories: The Power of the Influencer” is designed for student teams to learn about and share the stories of underrepresented populations in STEM professions. Students will use this information to create a Literary Science Symposium, targeting the Linda Vista Community, in which they will showcase interdisciplinary pieces that incorporate science, art (poetry, multimedia) and history products. Each biography will profile one individual from an underrepresented group in the field of STEM through video and print media. The content will feature his or her inspiration and motivation to work in STEM and his or her struggles and/or the highlights of being part of an underrepresented group in a STEM profession.
During the week of October 14th, STEM professionals from around San Diego will come to the Kearny Education to Employment Lab to be interviewed by the 11th grade student teams. Students prepared for their interviews by doing “Mock Interviews” where they practiced interviewing techniques such creating followup questions, rephrasing questions, body language, and maintaining eye contact. We are very excited to see what our amazing student produce! More to come...!
