“I just wanted to reach out and update you on my life,” the email began. As a high school teacher, I love receiving emails starting with a line like this. It is exciting to learn where my former students are in their life’s journey. Last month I opened an email starting with this line. My mind raced with the possibilities. Did they decide to major in chemistry, or education, or chemistry education like their favorite teacher?! ? My former student’s email continued, “I was just recently accepted into the school of engineering at my university and plan to pursue a material science engineering degree.” This was very exciting news. The last two sentences of his email made me pause. “I want to let you know that I don’t think I would’ve ended up where I am if it wasn’t for that engineering project you made us do in class. I never pictured myself liking engineering until that project.” 

The lesson he referred to was a lesson I developed with my Science Coach 4 years ago. The Science Coaches program is an educational outreach initiative of AACT and ACS. They match K-12 science educators with chemists to enhance science experiences for students. I paired up with an engineer at a major equipment manufacturer in our community. He worked in the paint processes department. I toured his department and learned how they used electrochemistry to ensure the proper thickness of paint and titrations to ensure their wastewater had the correct pH value for disposal. He was a guest speaker and helped develop a real-life engineering project for my classroom. In the project, groups of students took on the role of chemical engineers hired to tackle the problem of rusting on the manufacturer’s parts. Students had to use their acid-base neutralization knowledge to develop a cost-effective engineering process to remove the rust and emit safe wastewater according to EPA guidelines. My Science Coach helped make the project very realistic. We used the websites his engineering team would access to buy supplies, confirm EPA guidelines, and check chemical compatibility between the equipment they planned to hypothetically purchase and the chemicals they would hypothetically use. The Science Coaches program donated $500 to my classroom so we could purchase rusty steel pieces and chemicals to test their rust removal potential. See the attached handouts at the end of this post for the project guidelines. My Science Coach gave students feedback on their engineering designs by pointing out strong areas as well as areas of concern. Groups would burst with pride when my Science Coach told them areas of their project were better than current industry designs. Students used his feedback to improve their final presentation. I graded the project based on their ability to use their acid-base chemistry knowledge to analyze their engineering plan. Students were self-conscious about presenting their ideas to a real engineer. However, students were surprised to receive positive feedback from the Science Coach which added a little more swagger to their walk for the next few days. Even though his feedback did not affect their grade, it was powerful to their self-esteem because he worked in the industry. From my former student’s email, I learned our partnership also helped spark interest in engineering careers as well.

Since that first collaboration I have teamed up with other Science Coaches. I partnered with a local pharmacist and did a drug kinetics lesson together. I am currently partnered with a doctor who successfully developed an FDA approved pediatric cancer drug. While the craziness of COVID last spring prevented a visit to my classroom and postponed our cancer-themed chemical bonding lesson, we hope to use Zoom and Google Meet to help my current Science Coach virtually meet and mentor my students.

I would highly recommend getting involved with the Science Coaches program! A Science Coach could help you develop a lesson as mine did or they could serve as a mentor, answer content questions, help organize chemicals, and/or organize virtual field trips. You might be concerned COVID will make working with a Science Coach difficult. I am very optimistic about working with my Science Coach this school year because meeting virtually has become easier for me. My comfort-level with setting-up and running virtual meetings through Zoom and Google Meet has improved due to COVID. I assume this is the case for many professionals across the country. I found all of my Science Coaches before I applied through various community contacts, but you do not need to. The Science Coaches program can help find a coach for you! The Science Coaches program is accepting applications through September 1, 2020. You can learn more about the Science Coaches program here: https://teachchemistry.org/professional-development/science-coaches and apply here: https://fs11.formsite.com/AACT/jvr1y9hhcp/index.html

What is my take-away from my former student’s email? Career education is important. Even though I have done similar types of engineering projects in my classroom, I feel partnering with a Science Coach in the industry made it more impactful. This email made me see the importance of having a science mentor for my classroom.

If you don’t feel ready to take on the Science Coaches program this year, maybe reach out to your local university’s minority student organizations to find a classroom mentor. The Black Lives Matter movement and the educational gap between white and minority students made me reflect on my teaching practices this summer. It got me thinking about how I can help underrepresented minority students view STEM careers as a viable possibility for them. As a female, I found it powerful seeing other females (including my mother) being successful while pursuing STEM careers. It made me believe I could do it too. These female role models in science helped me recognize when I was struggling with my college organic chemistry class it was not because I was a female and did not belong in STEM, but because I needed to spend more time studying like any other student in the class. I want this for my underrepresented minority students in science. Last month I decided to find an underrepresented minority mentor for my classroom. It took a quick internet search, a few “cold call” emails, and one virtual meeting to establish a partnership with a minority student organization from a local university. The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) agreed to help mentor my chemistry students this school year by meeting virtually with them throughout the year. I am very excited my LatinX students will be able to see someone like them successfully pursuing a career in STEM. I plan to reach out to my local university’s National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) student chapter for additional mentors soon. I hope these mentors will be impactful to all my students!

Have you had a successful science mentor or coach experience in your classroom? Please join the conversation by sharing in the comments below. Join ChemEd X for free and log in to comment.