Xavier University of Louisiana-Mobile Outreach for Laboratory Enrichment (XULA-MOLE)

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PROJECT SUMMARY The application for Xavier University of Louisiana's Mobile Outreach for Laboratory Enrichment (XULA- MOLE) proposes a comprehensive training and mentoring program for high school students and teachers. This project is a partnership between Xavier and participating local high schools. The long-term objective of this collaboration is to stimulate science interest in high school students in the New Orleans area as a precursor to them pursuing careers in the biomedical sciences or STEM fields. The XULA- MOLE project also aims to better support science teachers with pedagogical and research project design training and mentoring to increase their impact in the classroom. The introduction of mobile inquiry-based STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) centered laboratory experiences will encourage high school students in this resource poor setting to pursue further education and careers in scientific fields. This program is especially important to the New Orleans area high schools, which after Hurricane Katrina have struggled to find synergy between curriculum design and education reform implementation. The general strategy for this proposed work will be carried out via a four-pronged approach involving (i) inquiry-based laboratory experiences, (ii) professional development and research design training for teachers, (iii) establishing near-peer mentoring programs between Xavier undergraduates and their pre-college peers and (iv) high school field trips to biomedical research labs at Xavier. The XULA-MOLE project participants include Xavier faculty and undergraduate STEM students who will design inquiry-based guided laboratory modules for the participating high schools aligned to the NGSS science processes. The specific activities for XULA-MOLE will be designed with inspiration from previous SEPA-funded programs such as BEST Science!, which focused on professional development workshops for teachers, and the long-sustaining CityLab, which most recently is piloting an after school science education program impacting students' science identity. By using a multi-pronged strategy to inspire science teaching and learning, the XULA-MOLE Program aims to develop a model system that can be applied to multiple schools and grade levels.