My first outreach event of the year was teaching a class through a STEM outreach program for girls out of Colorado School of Mines called DECtech. The program consists of 4 weeks of 4 different topics with hands on activities. I teach the 3rd and 4th graders on Mondays and am a Teaching Assistant for another Instructor on Tuesdays.
Monday
The first Monday class went really well. The topic was space so all of the girls were really excited and actively participating. One of the girls even said that she's researched space a lot because she wants to be an astronaut. She knows the exact career path someone needs to follow to become one, which is pretty impressive to already know in just 4th grade.
They overall seemed to enjoy the lesson and even were interested in the videos I showed, which were of astronauts in space and a rocket launch. The activity was creating a Mars colony, which consisted of them drawing a picture of the colony they wanted to live in, while also needing to include the list of essential items that we gave them. The essential items included food, water, air, etc. They all focused intently on drawing and coloring, while also being smart about what items were necessary and what items weren't.
One thing that I could have improved with the class is that we went 5 minutes over. However, I'd rather have a chatty class where all the girls raise their hand after every question than a quieter class that ends on time. I was especially impressed by their engagement because it was the first session, during which they tend to be a bit shyer.
When I first started working with DECtech, I was in awe of how smart the girls are. Not only that, but they are still young enough to not be afraid of raising their hand and answering questions, even if they might be wrong. Their enthusiasm and love for learning is why I love teaching kids.
Tuesday
Today, instead of being an instructor for DECtech I was the Teaching Assistant. It was a
completely different experience being a TA vs an Instructor. This was also the first time I've been a TA again since I first became an instructor. I really enjoyed being able to sit back and observe, but I also know now that I love teaching more than just being the TA.
We had three girls attending from the same school, who stayed after school for the zoom call. I think it was nice being in a cooperative environment for them, but sometimes it was a bit disruptive to others at the beginning. I wonder how challenging it was to include them during breakout room time. The biggest challenge we ran into here was the teacher wanting to call on them when they raised their hands, but really the DECtech Instructor was the one who should have been calling on them.
I was surprised by the differences in teaching styles between me the day before and the other instructor. While I followed along with the outline from the slides, prompting them with questions listed such as if they had ever seen a rocket launch, the other instructor focused less on the interactive questions at the beginning and more on saving time for the activity. I wonder what the perfect balance is there, as DECtech classes are always structured as learning about a topic, then moving to a hands-on activity. The hands-on activity is definitely the girl's favorite part, so I wonder if the more experienced instructor has the right idea?
Along with the comparisons between me and the other instructor, I could also reflect back to 2 years before when I was a TA for the same Instructor during the same topic and lesson. One other major difference was that the lesson 2 years ago was in person. While I do think the girls still had fun drawing on their own, in the past we've given them a big sheet of paper for a group of 3 or 4, that they then filled with drawings of spacesuits and bedrooms and kitchens. Thinking back to when I was a kid, I would have had a lot more fun designing the space with other kids my age. Not only that, but I think it is easier for the Instructors to be more engaging and excited when the classes are in person. This is because the in person classes allow us to walk around and chat with each individual student, giving the shyer students a place to tell us about their projects without speaking in front of the whole class. While the breakout rooms do allow for smaller groups, there is always one or two more outgoing girls and a couple shyer girls in a room. I'm not sure how to ensure that all of the girls feel included in the online setting, but that will be something I'll keep trying to achieve.
Overall, the first week of DECtech flew by without any major hitches and I can't wait for the next one.