Semester one has been another successful and impactful placement period for In2science. Our four partner universities coordinated 92 placements in 32 schools, with over 1500 students mentored over a 10-week block.
Our student, mentor and teacher evaluations measure many aspects of the program. In this snapshot, we take a look at the direct impact mentors have had on students in semester one, and the teacher and mentor perceptions in relation to this impact.
Impact on students:
This semester the In2science program was able to survey students in a whole class setting and group students based on if they worked with the mentor nearly every week or not. All students were exposed to the same learning environment and this lead to the formation of a control group (students not directly working with mentors) to compare and measure the impact a mentor may have when working directly with the same students nearly every week. Preliminary data from this has been overwhelmingly positive:
Click on the tabs below to see what teachers and mentors say about the In2science program
What teachers say:
Teachers ranking on what was of most value after having an In2science mentor
“Nathan was an excellent mentor. He really connected with some of the students who needed a reason to want to do mathematics. I hope at some point in the future he might consider a career in teaching.”
“Shaurya was excellent in my classroom at engaging with the students. It was also fortunate that the topics we were covering at the time fitted in to his expertise so he was able to help out many of the students develop their understanding. Thank you Shaurya.”
“Sarah was a fantastic mentor. She engaged really well with the kids, asked lots of questions (both of the students, and of me) and was very inspiring. It was also really wonderful to have her”
What mentors say:
“Although I had to mentor two different classes each week, the students were more inviting and accepting than I imagined. I learnt that teaching is much more complicated than I anticipated and have a new found respect for teachers. On the topic of algebra, I had to condense explanations in their most simplest form and use real life analogies for them to really grasp the concepts and by doing so I also learnt more about effective learning strategies that I can use in my own work. During my placement, I met an aspiring politician who discovered he needed math/science to understand budgeting, GDP, and global warming which he was very passionate about. I met a student who told me he was very interested in supernovas and galaxies after watching YouTube videos about space and told me that he now was interested in becoming an astrophysicist. Because of my circumstances I was only able to get really close to a few students but this was a great and rewarding experience and I hope to be an even better mentor next semester.”
“I really enjoyed the placement. The teacher was enthusiastic and it was fun and challenging finding different ways to engage with various students on scientific topics.”
“In2science is a really good program! I feel as though it has a meaningful impact on not only the students, but also the mentors. It was enlightening seeing how schools have progressed since I was in high school, especially the role that technology plays in each lesson.”
