The concept
Stepping up to help during a time of need
Embedded Files
IRHS Members Involved
Janie Kuang (11)
Runxin Zhou (11)
Asilah Maryam (11)
Maxine Wu (11)
Sheza Saiyed (11)
Carolin Pan (10)
Tiffany Chen (10)
The Classes, and Why?
The Classes, and Why?
PROBLEM-SOLVING: AN ESSENTIAL PART OF ENGINEERING
Using VEX VR to help younger students visualize the concept of "programming"
A Gaping Hole in the Learning Curve
When quarantine and lockdown started in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we realized that many students suffered an immense blow of learning loss. Schools and teachers weren't prepared with online curriculums, and many students, especially those who are younger, simply stopped learning because they no longer had access to their classroom setting and peers to learn with.
Since we were also high school students impacted by the pandemic, we decided to develop curriculums that would be able to engage younger students in a fun, supportive way while allowing them to learn STEM subjects.
Developing a Solution
Eight girls, from both teams in AHS VEX Robotics, came together to develop a session of classes. These classes were offered to students varying from second grade to freshmen in high school. "We had no entry requirements, because wanted to emphasize inclusivity. As long as they were interested in STEM, we were interested in teaching them," said Runxin Zhou, a teacher of the Introduction to Programming I class. The classes were small in size, with 20 to 30 kids in each session split into classes of only 4-6 students to one teacher, focusing on providing individual, personalized support for each student.
Our IRHS members split into separate subjects based on our own skills, and developed curriculums in smaller groups.
Introduction to Programming I Janie Kuang, Runxin Zhou
Introduction to Programming II Asilah Maryam
Introduction to HTML Carolin Pan, Tiffany Chen
Introduction to Python Maxine Wu, Sheza Saiyed
(curriculums that were developed and used for each class are attached at the top left of this page)
Our Individual Approaches
Classes were taught based on each group of students' needs as well as the teacher's teaching style. For example, Runxin Zhou's Introduction to Programming I (ITP1) class had weekly lesson slides (pictured on the left.)
Others, like Asilah Maryam's Introduction to Programming II (ITP2) class, taught by explaining and demonstrating the concepts to students through live walkthroughs.
Classes with younger students required shorter lecture times and more hands-on activities, while older students could cover more content before getting to work.
Through these classes, we learned more about our own teaching styles and patience, as well as others' needs and methods of learning.
Connecting over the Internet
For many of us, it was a challenge to truly connect with students because of the lack of genuine, human-to-human connection. Therefore, we developed our own methods of icebreakers and community building activities with our classes. To illustrate, Janie Kuang offered riddles to her students in her Google Classroom posts, encouraging students to interact with one another in the comment section. She also held Kahoot games at the end of her classes to bond with the students and encourage their interest in STEM.
On the other hand, Runxin Zhou engaged her students by playing icebreaking games, like Never Have I Ever, before class as a warm up, or after class as a reward for successfully completing the challenges of the day. Through these small activities, students became more interested in learning the subject and participating in class, and we were happy with the bonds that we formed with our community.
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