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This week marked the final preparations for K12 program leaders before the arrival of their students in July. The instructors worked closely with Irondale Theater leader and actor Terry Greiss to hone their skills in presenting for large audiences, condensing information, and connecting with one another.

Over the three day period, Greiss led the instructors through a number of exercises meant to introduce them to one another and begin warming up their skills in expression. Activities ranged from simple exercises such as relating their science to a classmate’s hobby, and pitching fictional products, to more emotional exercises such as describing their favorite picture using a blank sheet of paper or telling their own personal stories with science. This is especially important when many of the concepts instructors will teach may be complex and directed towards a younger audience.

The first day was mostly focused on introductions and loosening up: “Do you remember each others’ names better?” Greiss said after one particular exercise, in which the instructors were required as a group to introduce themselves by accompanying it with a gesture and profession of their favorite subject.

“Why do you think that is? It’s because you associate things with each of them. It’s not enough to simply hear a name once; when you picture something in accordance with it, it’s easier to ingrain that information in your head.” Most important to Terry was how well each of the instructors were able remember each other, and he stressed time and time again the necessity of retaining personal information about one’s associates in order to maximize the efficiency of academic interactions.

The second day was mostly based around storytelling and communication: in one activity, students applied a storytelling structure to their sciences, speaking first in pairs and then to the entire group. According to Greiss, this shows how presenting to large groups can be made easier by getting to know individuals first, building greater trust and allowing for an easier time conveying information. To create a more collaborative and quick-thinking environment, students were brought up in groups of five, tasked with telling a story, in which one member says a portion of it, followed by another member quickly adding to it.

For the final day, enthusiasm and empathy were the main themes. In a pairs, students ranted for a minute to each other about something they were passionately angry about. Then, in a group, they each described the good attributes and qualities of their partners despite the negativity of their rants. This illustrated the concept of empathy and understanding for others, even if they aren’t at their best. To practice enthusiasm, students were divided into large groups and given two random objects which they were tasked with feverishly pitching like an infomercial. This was a conductive exercise not just for working in groups, but for providing convincing information and showing fast-thinking enthusiasm and creativity.

The creative application of social interactions to explaining science and engineering concepts is key to an effective education, as well as collaborative efficiency. With their skills in these matters revitalized, the Instructors for the K12 STEM program are ready to tackle the task of bolstering the knowledge of those younger than them, promising a successful experience this summer.
Follow the K12 Center on Facebook and Twitter for more updates!

Written by Henry McClure and Nicolas Parada, NYU K12 STEM Center

Our Science of Smart Cities (SoSC) middle school students used post-it easel paper, rulers, pencil crayons, wire, hot glue and a LOT of imagination to plan and portray their ideal city layouts, one of the many hands-on activities that they complete during the month-long NYU Tandon School of Engineering’s Center for K12 STEM Education program. The students put their ongoing education on engineering, technology, sustainability and environmental issues to work and created more than 30 city layouts of all shapes and sizes, including transit systems, renewable energy, and in one case, a giant hamster wheel to power the city! Scroll down to see some of our best SoSC 2016 smart city designs (click on the photos for a closer look) and read quotes from our promising city planners-to-be.

“Science of Smart Cities helps us learn things that we never knew before, and also how to help our environment.” – Hassan (left)
“Science of Smart Cities helps us to be more aware of our surroundings, and be more conservative of our trees and the oxygen that they give us and the electricity that we use from them.” – Kalifa (right)

“A smart city has to have the key component of having renewable resources and things that don’t cause pollution, because pollution can kill plants and animals. Air pollution, light pollution, sound pollution– it all really affects the way we live. Also, we need to use sensors wisely. For example if there’s a water leak, you need a sensor to notify that there is a water leak to save money and so we can fix it earlier.” – Michelangelo (left)
“In a smart city there wouldn’t be so much pollution and people would have a lot of the things they would need to have.” – Cara (right)

“The most important thing in a smart city is transportation and different types of renewable resources. We showed that in our diagram by showing multiple routes of trains and busses going to different locations.” – Hivansh
“We had many different energy sources. The three that we used were hydropower, power from windmills and solar energy. It’s very important, because without the energy that we need, it’s pretty much impossible to run a smart city. Smart cities mainly rely on electricity.” – Jordan (not pictured)

“One of the most important things in a smart city is transportation. I demonstrated this in my city by adding multiple train and bus paths, and by making big lanes near the health areas. That way, people can get there faster during emergencies.” – Vivian (left)
Eamonn (right)

“A major thing that you need to make sure is that everywhere is accessible. In New York right now, there’s some bald spots so to say, where there’s no access and the nearest station is a bus ride away. So when we make a new city and we have an improved system, it should reach to all corners of the boroughs. I think that’s really important.” – T.J. (left)
“I think that in every location in a neighborhood they should have similar patterns. They should have a residential area and then the school should always be close to the residential area so it’s easily accessible. They should have buildings and grocery stores around, and things that make it more accessible.” – Bradley (right)

“A smart city helps the city stop polluting.” – Kymoy (left)
“It’s important that a smart city meets everyone’s needs… and when there’s no pollution everyone feels more comfortable, and they don’t feel surrounded by trash.” – Johann (right)

“A smart city would have to affect the city itself in a positive way, and it would have to integrate technology and sensors in ways that benefit the environment.” – Alyssa

“The reason I included hydro dams and solar power inside of my smart city was because I wanted to use less pollution.” – Isabel (left)
“We created these smart cities to show how we can create good transportation routes and improve our cities. We created a way for homes to be more advanced, use solar panels and stuff like that.” – Candice (center)
“Transportation… I modelled that in my smart city presentation by adding trains and busses and cars, because people need to get from one place to another, quicker.” – Jaila (right)

“The reason we chose a grid layout is because it’s easier to get around… For example, New York is like a grid so it’s easier to get to each place.” – Jonathan (left)
“I find it important to use less energy and be very green, with a lot of trees, bushes and nature in the city.” – Kat (right)

“I think it’s important that we have more ways to conserve our energy and use less fossil fuels.” – Louisiana

Last week, students in our FREE, three-week, full-day GenCyber Computer Science for Cyber Security (CS4CS) Summer Program for High School Women discovered “Leonardo DiHatrio’s” stolen Oscar at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, along with a Caesar cipher-encoded note. Was the crime committed by “Mark Puckerberg,” the queen, or another culprit? The young women set off on a camp-long mystery challenge to find out. Watch part one of our two-part web series to see how they use ‪their new cybersecurity‬ and computer science skills, like Autopsy to recover a deleted file, to determine who thieved the Academy Award. Ultimately, they’ll use skills learned during CS4CS to compete in the nation-wide Cyber Security Awareness Week annual High School Forensics Challenge along with team members from their high school.

The GenCyber CS4CS Program is generously funded by the National Science Foundation and National Security Agency. To learn more about the course content, check out a post on the program in our #STEMNOW blog and a sample syllabus.

GenCyber Mystery Challenge – Part 1 from Center for K12 STEM Education on Vimeo.

If you follow us on Facebook and Twitter, you know we shifted into high gear this week with the start of Applied Research Innovations in Science and Engineering, GenCyber and Science of Smart Cities. It’s been an amazing week, with Expanded Schools interns teaching circuitry to our diverse group of ARISE students, GenCyber starting cybersleuth work on a camp-long mystery, and SoSC learning skills that range from the art of giving presentations to the science of building LED circuits.

It’s also been an amazing year. Check out our multimedia timeline below for a look at what we’ve been up to since January, and stay tuned to our social media as it all comes together this summer. #STEMNOW

This summer’s ‪#‎STEMNOW‬ offerings for ‪#‎K12‬ ‪#‎teachers‬, like our National Science Foundation (NSF) DRK-12 and Research Experiences for Teacehers (RET) programs, learn a little about how the NYU Tandon School of Engineering faculty, our students and colleagues at New York University make a difference through high quality professional development.

The NYU Tandon School of Engineering partners with NYC FIRST to run its FIRST Lego League (FLL) and First Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics competitions throughout the five boroughs. Teams have been attending workshops to brush up on skills or learn new strategies. 

NYC FIRST and the School of Engineering provide schools and teachers opportunities to access FIRST robotics programs and train coaches. Thousands of students, their mentors, and teachers will compete in the 2015/2016 tournaments. In the 2015 FLL challenge, Trash Trek, teams (4th – 8th graders) will design a solution to a current trash-related problem and build and program LEGO robots to complete a series of missions while also gaining teamwork and leadership skills. Participation in FIRST programs gives students a hands-on way to learn engineering, physics, math and computer science concepts.

Since the robotics season recently begun, New York City teams have attended clinics at the Engineering School campus. FLL team members from 3rd to 8th grade worked diligently with their coaches to complete their robot while engineering students were on hand for trouble-shooting. The level of engagement and dedication was palpable. Sheryl Liels, a coach from Cambria Center For The Gifted Child in Queens, explained why the students on her school’s team were so drawn to FLL. They use EV3’s, a very popular programmable robot/software to complete missions, which is fun and challenging, but she also sees enormous growth in teamwork among the students.

The positive effect of the FLL focus on teamwork was repeated by other coaches and team members. From Lab Middle School, Nora, the assistant coach noted, “There has been much improvement, especially in working together. I’m very proud of the team.” Faviel, on another middle-school team, “really likes the club because it’s a good break from school.” He also commented, “it’s hard to do all the missions with one robot but the team really works together.”

In addition to addressing teamwork and technical skills, FLL and other FIRST programs often serve as a way to increase inclusivity in STEM-related pursuits. The Robo Rebels – Divas for Social Justice are working to increase the proportion of girls in robotics and engineering.  Two members responded when asked what their team’s name meant to them; 5th grader, Kalola said, “I always see a lot of male coaches and I think that there should be more women because we can express just as much creativity.” Amia agreed and added, “yeah girls can do anything, it’s not for one gender.”

The ability of these young students to spend a weekend day focusing their effort on engineering challenges was impressive. While taking the work seriously, they are definitely enjoying it!

Before heading to NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering and College of Arts and Sciences labs to conduct research alongside graduate students, postdocs and professors, the thirty seven 2015 Applied Research in Science and Engineering (ARISE) high school students round out their scientific knowledge with theoretical and practical training in the courses Basic Robotics to Inspire Scientific Knowledge (BRISK) and Dimensions of Scientific Inquiry (DSI). DSI, taught by Dr. Brendan Matz, professor of science and technology studies at NYU SoE and the Gallatin School, provides an overview of scientific methods and practices within a social, cultural, political, and economic context, ethical considerations, and science writing. BRISK, taught by Shishir Malav, who received his Masters from NYU SoE in Computer Engineering, teaches students about data collection, data analysis and the scientific method through hands-on robotics exercises using LEGO Mindstorm kits.

Deehan, an ARISE student entering his senior year of high school, who will be working in Professor Masoud Ghandehari’s Optical Sensing Lab was particularly interested in the history of science’s societal impact discussed in DSI, “We look through many controversial topics such as the Challenger Project by NASA…and we understand how it affects society while at the same time we discuss ways to solve the issues that arise from these controversies. I think the subject matter we discuss in this class is important for scientists and engineers because it alters the way they should conduct their work…(it) allowed me to understand how ethics plays a major role in science as it struggles to take into consideration everyone involved in its projects. It allowed me to understand how much thought must be put into science projects due to the social implications that they can come with. ”

Rising senior Dolly, who will be working on a project under the supervision of Professor Shivendra Panwar in the Center for Advanced Technology in Telecommunications noted that DSI, “gives you a summary of certain conditions and practices that universally exist within the scientific community. This class teaches you many things that you need to know in order to succeed as a researcher such as how and why it’s important to get funding, the importance of conveying your ideas and the importance of being honest with your findings when experimenting.”

BRISK gave ARISE student Samantha, who will be conducting research in Professor Rastislav Levicky’s Bio-Interfacial Engineering and Diagnostics Lab, a hands-on opportunity to program a robot to carry out simple commands, “I find my Robotics class so very valuable because it allows me to fully immerse myself in the application of math and science. While I have taken computer science classes in the past I don’t have any experience with programming robots. After my first Robotics class, it instantly occurred to me that programming can be completely understandable and frankly, completely exciting.

Sonia, who will be working in Professor Chris Rushlow’s Developmental Genomics Lab says that robotics, “…creates an environment that inspires ingenuity and imagination.” Although Sonia’s primary interest is in Life Sciences, she clearly maximized the potential of her time in BRISK, “On a whim, my partner and I decided to build a robot that would roam around until its touch sensors hit a wall, at which point it would play a short tune (of our own composition) and then continue on its way.  Building the robots also lent an opportunity to perform simple physics experiments: by using the computer software corresponding with our robot, we were able to use the robot’s color sensors to switch a timer on and off.  This allowed us to measure the time it took an object to fall and calculate its acceleration. We also built a catapult to launch the object back into the air—who can resist a catapult?”

Following the two weeks studying BRISK and DSI, ARISE students will disperse to begin work in 16 different labs across NYU. While time in the lab allows them to gain hands-on knowledge and experience, BRISK and DSI provide the students with information and background to understand their research within the broader scope of the STEM community, to see how various STEM fields intersect, and to think critically about their time in the lab.

The ARISE program is generously funded by The Pinkerton Foundation and the The Driskill Foundation.

Watch the video to see excerpts from New York City Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña and National Science Foundation’s Susan Singer.

In celebration of the Center’s largest Summer STEM programming to date, last Thursday July 9, NYU SoE Dean Katepelli Sreenivasan welcomed students, teachers, collaborators, and sponsors to the 2015 Summer of STEM Kick-Off Luncheon. Acknowledging NYU’s institution-wide support for STEM Education, including contributions from faculty, postdocs, and graduate students and a commitment to President Obama to train 500 school teachers in STEM over the next 10 years, he said “It is in the genes of the institution. We regard STEM [education] as an institutional goal, that is something that is very important for us.” 

New York City Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña noted that quality STEM education is necessary to make New York City “the place where people come to see what’s innovative, what’s exciting, and most important, what is it that’s getting our kids to succeed, graduate college, and be workforce ready.” Richard Langford, Senior Education Specialist from Microsoft, one of the primary sponsors of SoE’s work in NYC Schools this summer, would like to duplicate the program across the country, noting the importance of training future employees for technology companies like Microsoft. Mike Ruiz, from National Grid echoed these sentiments.

After touring campus classrooms and labs where K12 students and teachers are learning robotics, mechatronics, cyber security, and the science of smart cities, the National Science Foundation’s Director of the Division of Undergraduate Education, Dr. Susan Singer noted the rarity of K12 students and teachers, undergraduate, graduate students, and university faculty combining efforts in what she called an “ecosystems approach” to STEM education.

The biggest challenge facing STEM fields, industry, and the economy, according to Dr. Singer, is making innovative educational opportunities available to diverse students so that we may, “… [think] differently together about the grand challenges that we’re facing.” She commended the partnerships and entrepreneurial spirit that has enabled NYU SoE and its Center for K12 STEM Education to disseminate its methods widely.

The first of three sessions of NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering’s GenCyber Computer Science for Cyber Security (CS4CS) Summer Program for High School Women has brought twenty-one young women from the New York metropolitan area to campus for an introduction to the fundamentals of cyber security and computer science. Each two-week session offers hands-on training and an immersive introduction to the interdisciplinary field of cyber security.

Both faculty and undergraduate students from NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering design and teach the curriculum, which uses hands-on exercises and team projects. Since no experience was necessary, students entered with a wide range of knowledge about programming and computer science.

The first week of GenCyber CS4CS was visited by representatives from a funder, the National Security Agency, who were impressed with participants, instructors, and the curriculum. In particular, they witnessed how the range of experience levels was used as a strength when more experienced students helped less experienced students with exercises and were given additional challenges. 

The goals of GenCyber CS4CS are to provide high school women abilities, confidence, and options to consider computer science and cyber security careers and to form a support network among them. Although the program lasts only two weeks, participants are encouraged to expand their knowledge and serve as computer science and cyber security ambassadors by recruiting a team of high school classmates to compete in the nation-wide Cyber Security Awareness Week (CSAW) annual High School Forensics Challenge.

The week ended with a visit to NYC’s Google Headquarters for a tour and to meet women working in the computer science industry.  The opportunity to see in person, concrete examples of women in a supportive workplace and the teamwork necessary for innovative problem-solving made a big impression on GenCyber participants. Thank you Google for your hospitality!

The free GenCyber CS4CS program is supported by the National Science Foundation the National Security Agency, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and is led by Professor Nasir Memon, head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and the Information Systems and Internet Security Lab.