AWARD YEAR: 2024

WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES

DIRECTOR: STANFORD HILL

PROJECT TITLE: ISTEM: A PIEDMONT TRIAD INITIATIVE

Wake Forest University School of Medicine’s Center of Excellence for Research, Teaching and Learning (CERTL) proposes to create comprehensive STEM satellite programs for a cohort of middle school students at two schools within the Piedmont Triad by partnering with Stokes and Yadkin County Schools to create “iSTEM: A Piedmont Triad Initiative.” This partnership will deliver STEM-based yearlong programs through an inquiry-based learning (IBL) model, including a weeklong summer STEM experience and a yearlong follow-up program. The follow-up program consists of two visits to the WFUSOM in Winston Salem, NC for a fall and a spring summit, quarterly STEM Saturday events in each district, and quarterly progress report meetings to monitor their academic progress and guide them toward more rigorous STEM-related courses. The fall and spring summits will connect participants with STEM professionals and faculty from Wake Forest University and WFUSOM. STEM Saturday events will take place quarterly in each of the partnering districts led by their teacher leaders from the summer experience component who have been provided professional development opportunities from CERTL. A yearlong project-based learning component will be launched during the summer experience that is continued throughout the school year via Canvas. The project component will culminate at the end of the school year with a presentation to their families, lead teachers, and CERTL staff. This program will serve 20 middle school students from these two low-wealth, rural school districts to improve their knowledge of STEM-based content and improve their academic performance in order for them to enroll in higher-level STEM classes and possibly pursue careers in STEM-related fields.

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