This is such inspiring work, well planned and with clear empowerment and joy in the work. Thanks so much for sharing this!

Thank you for viewing our video and for the kind words. I am so proud of these young women and the work they are committed to in this project. I am blessed to work with such inspiring young adults!

Welcome to our video and thank you for taking the time to visit our project. This project is in the first year of implementation. We are just beginning data collection and PBL project development. This video was directed and produced by primarily five Noyce scholars at UTEP who are listed as co-presenters for this video. I am very proud of their contributions and look forward to seeing the work they do in this project!

We welcome input about the video and any ideas you have for collaboration! We are focusing the students on developing PBL units that can be implemented in diverse dual-language settings. We emphasize a connection to the community and the significance of the products. Alongside the PBL unit development, we will start collection data on the scholars themselves next Fall in order to study the role of a professional network in professional development as a preservice STEM teachers transitions to an inservice practitioner. Thank you again for your comments and contributions!

Congratulations for this excellent initiative!  Cheers for more initiatives like this that promote Latinas in STEAM disciplines!

I loved the enthusiasm of those in your video.  It did a great job summarizing your work..

A similar program at the University of Cincinnati provided training to teachers on Challenge Based Learning (similar to PBL).  What may be of interest to you is the free units of instruction that were developed and tested by teachers in their classrooms.  You can find these units of instruction at http://stemucationacademy.com/units/.  We also offer training to teachers on the CBL methods as well and as such we might learn something from each other.  A book about this project was written "Creating Engineering Design Challenges, Success Stories for Teachers" from NSTA press that summarizes some of the success achieved by this program.

Your program looks to be a great asset to the community.  Keep up the good work.

Thanks for sharing!

Jack, thank you for sharing information on Challenge Based Learning!

As a parent of one of your Noyce scholars, Katrina Villalobos, I am so very proud of all of the hard work that has been put into this project. I have seen first hand the extreme effort and dedication put forth into her studies and this project. I look forward to seeing the culmination of everyone's hard work. I am so very proud of all our Noyce scholars. Thank you Dr. Nagler for your guidance.

This is wonderful and much needed work that you are doing. How are the Noyce scholars recruited? And where are they going to be placed upon graduation hopefully continuing with PBL?

We agree: the best investment and the biggest impact is providing a supportive network for teachers.  In Detroit, our impact is most clearly expressed by the enthusiasm of our fifth grade teachers in our professional development activities.  A question:  how well does what you do with teachers align with the curriculum that their districts program them to teach?  That has been a challenge in our project.  Like El Paso, Detroit is on a river that is also the international border.  Our education site is on Belle Isle in the Detroit River, a few hundred yards from the international boundary.  We focus a lot in our project on what's IN the river. How about yours?

I really like your project, and the video. What type of data are you collecting as part of the evaluation? This project is very unique, it will be a great contribution to the field. 

I love the video. I especially loved hearing the voices of the Noyce scholars.

You mentioned "We are focusing the students on developing PBL units that can be implemented in diverse dual-language settings. We emphasize a connection to the community and the significance of the products." I am wondering, what resources are you drawing upon during this curriculum development process? When you are done, how will you be sharing the curriculum resources that you develop? I ask because I think this would be a very valuable contribution for those of us who are doing similar work in other school districts.   

Your video conveys your project and everyone's enthusiasm very well! How are you focusing your approach to PBL development? Do you have specific content areas you are starting in and expanding from there, or taking a different approach?

This is wonderful, and I echo what others have said about how wonderful it was to hear from the Noyce Scholars (and the children!)  Are teachers working at all with ideas or frameworks from the literature culturally relevant pedagogy or critical pedagogy?  

I'm picking up on the thread started by William above, because my thinking went into high gear when I read that quote "We are focusing the students on developing PBL units that can be implemented in diverse dual-language settings. We emphasize a connection to the community and the significance of the products." 

This got me thinking about the fact that lexicons of world languages vary from one to the next, but some are further apart than others. Are you finding that the academic lexicon of the languages spoken by teachers and students in this project differ substantially from English? If so, how is that impacting dual-language instruction, development of materials, or otherwise being addressed in the project?

I'm also curious about cultural differences in teaching and learning within the community, and how the values of the community are being factored into the design of the program. This type of project offers opportunities to take a fresh look at established practices and ask whether they apply, make sense or can be improved in response to the ways students and teachers engage and contribute. The learning goes in all directions, in my experience. :)

Thank you for sharing this wonderful project! 

Thank you for sharing.  Definitely agree with others that it terrific to hear from the Noyce Scholars and the children. My wife is originally from El Paso so I have visited several times.

I am curious if you have any expected outcomes based on a social network analysis?

Hi-tell her hello from El Paso! I love meeting people from El Paso when I travel!

With regard to your question, we are pursuing three classes of hypotheses for the SNA: (1) that inclusion in the Noyce@UTEP program will enhance the formation of network structure (relationships) for STEM teaching as evidenced by Noyce- enabled network associations; (2) that full development of the network structure positively influences the major program outcomes (motivation, teaching self-efficacy, retention); and (3) that Noyce Scholars who are retained in teaching will exhibit homophily in the network. 

Amy, we are looking at working closely with schools in San Antonio and partners in Mexico.  This is great work.  If there might be ways to connect efforts, that would be great, but either way, very excited for this work.

Excellent work. Congrats!

Thank you for this moving video about a critical issue. I love how your project is targeting expansion of Hispanic women in STEM teaching - this approach will support increasing the number of students interested and achieving in STEM. The inclusion of PBL in this project is important to note, as well, as an emphasis on critical thinking.

Great to see evidence-based PD.  Noyce seems to have potential to be implemented at other institutions.  Are there plans to package and export such a program beyond El Paso? 

Love this intitative! It is always great to see more Latinas enter the STEM field. Thank you for sharing!

What a great program! Congratulations!
I love programs that focus on minority communities, especially young Latinas because they have so much to offer. 
In general, this program is similar to another one being showcased here, "A community-based Approach to Engaging Students and Teachers," lead by Dr. Janelle Johnson.
Keep up the great work!

Wonderful work everyone!

Thank you all for your participation and support. Looking forward to seeing you next year!