Tehya John, “Design and Development of Scientific Skill-Building Activities for High School Students in the ACS SEED Program”
Mentor: Anja Blecking, Chemistry & Biochemistry
Poster #68

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will bring a national chemistry research program for high school students in summer 2022 to the UWM campus. The ACS (American Chemistry Society) Project SEED program provides high school students from socioeconomically disadvantaged families with the opportunity to work with faculty research mentors for 8-weeks and engage in authentic, chemistry-related research. The program also introduces students to activities that help them to build skills that they need to successfully conduct research. The research presented at the symposium will show the development and final design of the research skill-building curriculum. The curriculum framework organizes around defined student learning outcomes in the areas of chemistry-specific literacy, academic reading and writing, research design, communication of research results, and other supporting skills. The presentation will include the design framework, a discussion of student learning outcomes, and examples of skill-building activities. Activities are based on current research and follow best practices for curriculum design. This study’s main goal is to create learning opportunities that potentially remove barriers for students with various incoming skill sets so that they have an equitable opportunity to be successful in the 8-week research program. The developed curriculum provides all participating students with resources and learning opportunities that will support their learning and overall research experience.