Expanding Minds through Summer Programs
This summer, our Biology, Engineering, Geoscience, and EdTech camps immersed students in experiences where they could test their likes and abilities in things they might like to study. Learning from professors and college students they were able to experience college life while still in high school.
Biology Camp students constructed a prosthetic hand by building an electrical circuit.
Engineering Camp students had fun testing and measuring the success of the rockets that they built.
Geoscience Camp students hiked, rode horses, and learned about the education and careers opportunities in the southern part of Utah.
“If you can weave integrated content into transformative experiences then you have the recipe for educational magic,” said John R. Taylor, Associate Professor of Biology at Southern Utah University. “There are mounds of educational research explaining the types of experiences that are “high-impact” and GEAR UP smartly contains many of them.”
This summer’s theme was experiential learning as our students constructed usable items, went places, and learned how things work in nature, science, and engineering. In addition to learning, they stayed and ate on college campuses, explored nature in Utah’s National Parks, interacted with professors and groups on campus, and toured when they were not in lessons.
Here’s a review of our summer programming.
Biology in Life Camp (June 6-7)
GEAR UP Grant Three and Grant Four students, class of 2023 and 2024, participated in a wide range of new and exciting activities. USU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry faculty member Ryan Jackson led the camp, held on June 6-7 for about 20 teens from high schools throughout Utah. Students were taught lessons by professors and mentored by USU undergraduates in this ongoing partnership with USU’s College of Science.
USU students planned and led many of the activities, like constructing a prosthetic hand by building an electrical circuit. “We also had some faculty guest appearances, including Sara Freeman from the Department of Biology, who let students hold an actual human brain, and Sean Johnson from Chemistry and Biochemistry, who took the campers through a cutting-edge x-ray crystallography experiment,” Jackson says.
Engineering Camp (June 6-7)
Building on past years, students had the option to attend an engineering camp calibrated to their interests. Faculty and students led by USU Engineering Education faculty member Kurt Becker introduced engineering activities focused on rockets for a group of about 30 camp participants. During the sessions students learned about payloads, parachutes, launching, and data collection. They also had fun testing and measuring the success of the rockets that they built.
GEAR UP has benefitted from our partnership with USU’s College of Engineering. Becker has been a longtime supporter of the GEAR UP program, working with our students and teachers to improve engineering education in Utah. He also hosted a five-day workshop to help teachers build curriculum for the coming year, partnering with Max Longhurst, from USU’s School of Teacher Education and Leadership.
Geoscience Camp (June 20-23)
GEAR UP’s newest summer camp took to the road with 38 students from Grant Three’s, class of 2023 and 2024, three chaperones, and two professors. Over four days, students hiked, rode horses, and learned about education and career opportunities in the southern part of Utah. They were also happy to return to Utah Tech University for some leisure time activities at the pool and rock wall, as well as dinners and to the dorms to sleep.
First students learned about the geology and biology of the national parks in a classroom at Southern Utah University, with professors Jason Kaiser, Associate Professor, Geology, and John Taylor. After this brief introduction, students experienced the rock formations and flora of the parks by visiting Bryce and Zion National Parks, as well as two college campuses.
EdTech Summer Camp (June 20-24)
Granite School District’s GEAR UP students came together to solve a real-life challenge, using STEM education and 3D printing. At the start of the camp, they met a special needs student and learned about their life and challenges. Then students worked in teams using coding, robots, drones, 3D printers, cardboard construction, microbits, and hummingbird kits to design prototypes of assistive products that could solve some of the students challenges. They then presented their finding “Shark Tank” style at the close of the camp.