WEB NEWS RELEASE
COLLEGE PARK, MD (October 2010) - If given the opportunity, students will rise to the level of expectation set for them. When presented with both the opportunity to perform in a rigorous academic setting and high-leverage instruction, students will access their raw potential and with it, enthusiastically meet almost any challenge. Students at Friendship Charter Public Schools are doing just that in a pilot college readiness course Bioengineering 100. BioE 100, is an introductory engineering class in which upon successful completion, students will receive college credit from the University of Maryland.
Dr. Leigh Abts, research associate professor, spearheaded the development of the program at Friendship and coordinates the University's involvement. Dr. Abts presented the partnership to the National Defense Education Program K-12 conference. He was joined by two of the course's students, and the course instructors, Dr. Jennifer Wolk, a materials science engineer in the U.S. Navy's Carderock Division, and Mr. Prem-Raj Ruffin, Friendship's calculus teacher. Together, they discussed their experience in the course to an audience that included over 100 STEM Education leaders from across the Department of Defense laboratories, military facilities, the Department of Defense Education Activity Schools, and the service academies.
Dr. Abts described the goals of the initiative to provide students with the opportunity to fully reach their potential and successfully prepare them for the transition from high school to college. The goal of the class is not simply to provide the students with academic knowledge, but to develop the critical thinking skills needed to apply this knowledge to complex engineering problems. The course also encourages the development of positive academic behaviors, such as time management and study habits. Ms. Kierra Lucas, a Friendship senior and future mathematics major, described her time management skills development, "This course was very, very challenging. I have to study for this class more than my other classes. I have learned to manage my time with my after-school activities like volleyball and dance because education comes first."
BioE 100 is a combination of traditional lecture, regular labs and a design project component to provide the students with hands-on learning opportunities that will reinforce their understanding of engineering concepts. Mentored by professional engineers, students worked on projects related to hydrodynamics, aerospace engineering and biomedical engineering. Mr. Percee Goings, also a senior who wants to major in software engineering, appreciates the design project as training for his future career. "The group work that we did in class will be helpful in my career. I know I will have to work in teams as a software engineer. I like the idea of becoming an engineer because of the freedom to say what you want to do and then to actually build it."
At the conference, Dr. Wolk provided an overview of her teaching philosophy and data-to-date on the improved performance of her students on their tests and homework assignments. The class average for the first test was 49%, at which point Dr. Wolk had a serious conversation with her students, "I told them, 'I'm going to push you. Up until now you have not really had to work hard because you are already so smart. Your level of potential is so high and you are capable of achieving so much more. I am going to hold you to the college standard because this is a college course.'" Her students came to realize that they were not putting the requisite effort to be successful and changed their study habits to rise to the challenge.
Lucas and Goings, both shared with the audience the importance of this class in ensuring their success in college next year and how the course should be implemented in other schools. They have been encouraging their peers to take the course at Friendship, seeing it as an invaluable learning experience. Certainly, the futures of the students involved in the BioE 100 course look bright. When the presentation ended, both students were enthusiastically greeted by audience members, including representatives from the U.S. Naval Academy, encouraging the Friendship seniors to investigate their alma maters as potential next steps.
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For more information on the College of Education, visit: www.education.umd.edu
or contact
Halima Cherif, Assistant Director for Communications, at: hcherif@umd.edu
