Environmental Factor

March 2012

Postdocs reach out to Durham middle schoolers

By Eddy Ball

Arana, right, gave an introduction to the “Healthy Lungs, Happy Living” apprenticeship during the hook event at Lowe’s Grove Middle School. Beside her, left to right, are Trivedi, Verhein, and Lichti-Kaiser.

Trivedi explained the basics of lung physiology to the students, using an anatomical model of the lung. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)

NIEHS trainees launched the largest volunteer apprenticeship ever Feb. 9 in the Citizen Schools (http://www.citizenschools.org/)  program Feb. 9 at Lowes Grove Middle School in Durham, N.C. The project is a volunteer effort benefitting from financial support by the NIEHS Office of Science Education and Diversity, as well as training and hands-on experience in workshops offered by the Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) Science Education Program.

Standing in for trainee Nisha Cavanaugh, Ph.D., who serves as project coordinator, NIEHS biologist Mercedes Arana, Ph.D., joined trainees April Binder, Ph.D., Kristin Lichti-Kaiser, Ph.D., Darshini Trivedi, Ph.D., and Kirsten Verhein, Ph.D., to offer groups of middle schoolers a preview of what they could look forward to in the NIEHS “Healthy Lungs, Happy Living” series, which began officially Feb. 16.

Young scientists on a mission

The team was the first contingent of a 15-member group of trainees who have been preparing since September 2011 to serve as citizen teachers in the low-income school. The group is dedicated to preparing what they are calling environmental ambassadors from participants in the ten-week afterschool apprenticeship program, raising awareness of the importance of environmental health through a curriculum of instruction and hands-on learning activities.

“The first four weeks is about the respiratory system, how air pollution affects lung function, and how lungs function in the body,” said Trivedi. “The next three weeks, we’ll build a mechanical lung and show them the effects of smoking on lung health and of asthma as a respiratory disease. The last three weeks, they’ll prepare for what we call the WOW! event — an evening when the student apprentices invite their friends and families to showcase what they’ve learned and talk about what the program has meant to them.”

Making a difference and rounding out skill sets

The NIEHS scientists are part of a nationwide program that has proven its worth by boosting participants’ success rates. According to Citizen Schools follow-up since 2002, young people who were part of the program are 20 percent more likely to graduate from high school, attend classes more often, outperform their peers in six measures of student success, and are 80 percent more likely to attend college.

Since its start by former college roommates Eric Schwartz and Ned Rimer in 1995, Citizen Schools has spread to 18 cities throughout the nation, providing hands-on learning taught by AmeriCorps educators and volunteer experts (http://www.citizenschools.org/volunteer)  from all fields — from science to law to finance and community service. The program operates in 31 schools and has served 4,500 students through the efforts of 4,200 volunteers.

Along with all they’re giving to their students, NIEHS citizen teachers will also be receiving. They are bringing their passion about science to young minds and helping change they way America thinks about education. They are also building important careers skills in planning, teaching, and team building.

Although they’ve benefited from advice from NIEHS outreach and education specialists Ericka Reid, Ph.D., Bono Sen, Ph.D., and John Schelp, this is a trainee-initiated, -built, and -operated program that will help the resumes and CVs of these young scientists stand out when it comes time to search for career opportunities.

And, as a bonus, the NIEHS citizen teachers are also having a lot of plain old fun doing their thing and doing it well.

Students appeared to be having fun, as they exercised before measuring their lung capacity. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)

At the request of the NIEHS Office of Science Education and Diversity, contractor Image Associates produced this simple, but informative poster about lung health and the environment. The NIEHS Citizen Schools team had the poster on hand for their recruitment presentation at Lowes Grove Middle School. (Photo courtesy of Donna Jeanne Corcoran)

Lichti-Kaiser helped the students measure their lung capacity, using a simple prop. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)

An anatomical lung display and mechanical lung models, built by the fellows and students, will be important tools in the apprenticeship as the students learn about lung function. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)

"Review calls for effective ..." - previous story   next story - "Nano consortium gathers at ..."
March 2012 Cover Page

 Back to top