Courtesy South Franklin Community Center

Within the playful, art-clad walls of the South Franklin Community Center, South Provo people find resources, programs and a sense of community. One of the center’s main benefits is his after-school STEM club run by Professor Ryan Nixon of the BYU Mackay School.

The STEM club meets once a week in the community center and is regularly attended by 15-20 students ages 4-14. According to Stephanie Anderson, director of the South Franklin Community Center, the STEM club is one of the community center’s most popular classes. The club provides enriching activities for the student and contributes to reducing significant achievement gaps in her STEM among the underserved.

The club’s teachers are currently primary school students at the Mackay School and plan lessons around the student’s interests and cover a variety of topics including aviation, agriculture, anatomy, engineering and chemistry.

“Programs like this are great because they’re a service to the community and they help the kids who get involved, but they’re also beneficial for the students at the McKay School,” Nixon said. “They just have jobs.” I also have experience in teaching.”

Two McKay School primary school students plan the lessons and teach the program at all times. Additionally, the lead teacher has been running her STEM club program for about a year.

Courtesy South Franklin Community Center

Elizabeth Tagg, a McKay School student who has been teaching at the Center since August 2021, said: Not only in my scientific knowledge, but also in my love of science. “

McKay School student Emily Zumwalt says the club is a unique educational experience. “From the age of 4 she had students up to 14, and we had to accommodate our lesson plans to ensure our lessons reached all ages,” she said.

Both Tagg and Zumwalt focus on interactive learning and experimentation. “In each of these experiments, we want children to learn through the observations they find rather than through direct instruction,” Zumwalt says.

In a recent social media takeover, Tag shared one lesson using Starburst candy to teach students about rock cycles. Students mix starbursts to form simulated ‘metamorphic rocks’, melt them into ‘magma’, cool molten candies into ‘igneous rocks’, and more at every step of the cycle. I manipulated Starburst.

According to Zumwalt, that level of creativity is pretty standard. Place them in rocks and build your own Rube his Goldberg his machine. “

Courtesy South Franklin Community Center

These experiments and activities may seem like mundane pastimes to participants, but STEM clubs can help fill the gaps in the outcomes you care about. Studies show that underserved populations such as minority, low-income, and/or first-generation college students show the same interest in STEM subjects and careers as all students, but that Achievement levels lag far behind those of students in other demographics. group.

A report on STEM subjects and underserved learners by American College Testing found that students with only one underserved characteristic were less prepared for STEM learning than their peers. understood. A student with two traits has STEM readiness 20% lower than average, and if all three traits are present, the rate is 34% lower than she is.

Groups like STEM clubs are helping bridge that achievement gap, one starburst-filled lesson at a time. Club members not only have fun but also prepare for their future studies.

“Participants enjoy exploring, problem-solving, physical activity, and learning through STEM-related activities!” says Stephanie Anderson. “Activities are well prepared, staff are knowledgeable and offer excursions and family friendly activities.”

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