Jan 18 2012

NYIT Students Give Middle Schoolers an Education in Technology

New York, N.Y. (January 18, 2012) – NYIT students enlivened science and engineering lessons when they taught a group of middle school students how to build solar cars as part of a collaboration with an innovative school in Harlem, N.Y.

Seven students from the School of Engineering and Computing Sciences and the College of Arts and Sciences shaped lesson plans and connected with young students to encourage interest in technology studies. During the Fall 2011 semester, they worked with students at Citizen Schools, a non-profit organization that partners with middle schools throughout the U.S. to provide a rigorous academic experience for students in low income neighborhoods. The unique learning model includes an extended school day, hands-on learning from volunteers and AmeriCorps educators, and partnerships with companies like Google.

Shanice Doyle, team leader and NYIT bio-medical engineering major, said she was drawn to the experience because she wanted to inspire young minds while seeing how she liked teaching. Doyle, from Trinidad, described her experience working with students from another culture as “challenging.”

Doyle and the other six NYIT students who volunteered oversaw a curriculum on three projects on web design, creating solar cars, and developing solar cookers. Each team was matched with a teacher to lead the course during a ten-week term. The middle school students then gathered to demonstrate what they had learned.  

Steavian Sampson, electrical and computer engineering major from Jamaica, enjoyed contributing to community life.

“This experience revolves around passing on whatever you know to the kids,” said Sampson, who is pursuing a career in politics, but has a passion for math and technology. 

Another group of students will volunteer during the Spring 2012 semester to teach middle school students about robotics, web design, scalable game design, and other subjects.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer Citizen Teacher, contact the Office of Career Services at cs@nyit.edu or 212.261.1537.
 

 
Led by President Edward Guiliano, NYIT is guided by its mission to provide career-oriented professional education, offer access to opportunity to all qualified students, and support applications-oriented research that benefits the larger world. To date, 89,000 graduates have received degrees from NYIT. For more information, visit nyit.edu.

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Contact
Briana Samuels
Communications Specialist
646.273.6022
brianasamuels@nyit.edu