This school year, I have a new teaching assistantship at the University of Central Florida. I am part of the Initiatives in STEM (iSTEM) program which includes the EXCEL and COMPASS programs at UCF. The goals of iSTEM are [1]:
- To bring coherence to the many externally and internally STEM funded projects at UCF.
- To increase grant and philanthropic funding efforts that support STEM education and related research by bringing together interested participants from throughout UCF and from outside UCF.
- To position UCF in Florida and nationally as a hub for STEM education and related research.
- To improve the STEM pipeline and produce a better STEM workforce.
EXCEL is a program that helps students in STEM fields be successful. The ultimate goal is to ensure that students with STEM majors actually graduate with a major in a STEM field. A brochure is available at https://excel.ucf.edu/files/EXCEL_brochure.pdf.
The COMPASS program is designed to “increase the number of UCF students pursuing a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) discipline” [2].
My current duties involve working with the calculus 2 course. I also work in the tutoring lab that is open throughout the week for students to get additional help with their work. I have been having a really fun time recalling my calculus 2 knowledge and helping students to understand the concepts.
What is your assistantship for the semester/year? Does your university have programs like this?
[1]: http://news.cos.ucf.edu/cos-and-cecs-collaborate-for-stem-education-initiatives/
[2]: http://compass.ucf.edu/about-compass/