K-12 Minority Outreach Fellowship: Bridging Generations Among Minority Scientists

1. K-12 Minority Outreach Fellowship: Bridging Generations Among Minority Scientists The American Physiological SocietyIntegrating the Life Sciences from Molecule to Organism C. Brooke Bruthers Minority Programs Coordinator 2009 Understanding Interventions Conference

2. Goal & Objective GOAL • To foster communication between minority graduate and postdoctoral students and minority middle/high school life sciences students OBJECTIVE • Fellows will improve their teaching skills, participate in outreach activities to K-12 minority students and teachers, and become more comfortable talking about physiology careers in schools, and at national meetings and conferences

3. Activities • Program launched in 2006 • Year-long outreach fellowships for senior graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to: • Visit K-12 classrooms • Help conduct teacher professional development workshops • Attend scientific meetings • Fellows receive travel support; no stipend provided

4. Participants • NIDDK Minority Travel Fellows • Porter Physiology Development Fellows • Frontiers in Physiology Fellows • Local middle and high school science teachers

5. Timeline Program activities span a full year to allow each Fellow the training and experiences to meet the Fellowship goals. Spring • Attend Experimental Biology (EB), the APS annual meeting: • Participate in NIDDK Minority Travel Fellows program • Complete outreach training • Participate in K-12 EB outreach activities • Recognized by APS President at Business Meeting Summer • Serve as Physiologists-in-Residence at Science Teaching Forum and learn about: • Student learning styles • Required K-12 curriculum • Standardized testing • Importance of state standards

6. Timeline, continued Fall • Classroom visits to schools • Physiology Understanding (PhUn) Week • www.phunweek.org • ABRCMS or SACNAS conference Winter • Prepare Fellowship report Spring • Attend EB • Participate in same events, with greater responsibility • Recognized for fellowship completion

7. Applications & Awards • Between 2006-2009, 10 applications have been received and 5 Fellows have been awarded (50%). • 90% of applicants were African-American/Black. • 80% of awardees were African-American/Black. • 90% of applicants and 100% of awardees were female.

8. Initial Results Show Positive Impact • Personally and professionally rewarding • This fellowship has been an amazing life changing experience. It allowed me to immerse myself in science outreach, network with educators all over the country, develop my own professional goals, and most importantly, excite and inspire numerous students and teachers. • Improved teaching knowledge and skills • Through each activity, I gained valuable insight into the role of a science educator, both formally and informally. This fellowship has helped to equip me to become a more effective science educator through increased awareness of learning styles, sensitivity to diversity and an increased consciousness regarding stereotypes and preconceptions that may thwart interest in science careers.

9. K-12 Outreach Classroom Visits • 15 visits • 1,030 students • 13 grade levels • Public schools, charter schools, after-school learning centers • Group sizes from 10 to 180 students

10. K-12 Outreach • Activities were selected and organized by Fellows: • Career presentations • Demonstrations (blood flow & oxygen delivery changes from rest to exercise) • Q&A sessions (careers, hypertension, heart disease) • Discussions (scientific method, nutrition, digestion) • Draw-A-Scientist and Dress-A-Scientist tests

11. Accomplishments • Represented APS at National Meetings • Students and faculty visited APS booths at ABRCMS and SACNAS from 2006-2008. • This [ABRCMS] conference was an awesome experience! I was very impressed with the large numbers of minority undergraduates majoring in biology or related majors that were genuinely interested in going to graduate or other professional school. • Became more comfortable talking about physiology careers in schools and at national meetings and conferences. • …I became more comfortable telling others of the pathway that led me to this career, and I began to encourage younger students and offer advice on how to succeed in undergraduate and graduate science programs more than ever before.

12. Continuing Outreach • 100% of past Fellows have continued with outreach efforts after the fellowship period. • PhUn Week (n=3) • Girl Scouts Science Events (n=1) • Additional classroom visits (n=3) • Bringing students to the lab (n=1) • Overall, this fellowship has provided valuable professional development which helped to increase my confidence as a scientist, making it easier for me to be a role model. As a result, I plan to become more involved in getting students interested in science in general, and recruiting students to physiology. • 100% of current Fellows have already planned future outreach activities.

13. Unexpected Outcomes • Inter-institution collaboration • Appreciation for networking and mentoring and the value each has on science education • Expanding career goals

14. Summary • Initial evidence suggests that objectives are being met • Good connections built between trainees and teachers • Need better evaluation measures • Formative • Summative • Tracking for 5 years • Promotion to increase Hispanic/Latino, Native American, and male applicants • Implement site teams with emphasis on institutional recognition

15. Acknowledgements • This fellowship is supported by a grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health (Grant # R13 DK39306). • Martin Frank, Ph.D., APS Executive Director (PI) • Marsha Lakes Matyas, Ph.D., APS Director of Education Programs (Co-PI) • Melvin Limson, Ph.D., APS K-12 Programs Coordinator

16. For More Information… • Visit: www.the-aps.org/education/minority_prog • Contact: C. Brooke Bruthers Minority Programs Coordinator bbruthers@the-aps.org APS Education Office 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814 education@the-aps.org (301) 634-7132