性吧导航

Every Wednesday in the fall, winter and spring, some 性吧导航 faculty, professional staff and students go back to middle school for an hour or so. Specifically, they go to SLA-MS) to teach a myriad of mini courses in health sciences, Japanese, IT careers and more.

In a partnership that began in 2021 , Drexel and the SLA-MS at 36^th and Warren streets work together to offer mini courses designed to expand the young students鈥� horizons. The mini courses are usually held while SLA-MS teachers are in professional development and are taught not only by Drexel faculty and staff, but also by student-teachers from the School of Education who design their own courses. Recently, two undergraduate students developed courses focusing on communication and mindfulness.

鈥淚 worked really closely with the principal to align their mini course cycles with Drexel鈥檚 term cycle,鈥� said School of Education Director of Strategic Partnerships Andrea DiMola, who facilitates courses led by Drexel faculty, professional staff and students. 鈥淭hat way, we can offer a different experience each term. I think hearing from college students and getting that perspective is really helpful for these young students.鈥�

Though the partnership has been in place since 2021, the program really began to gel in the 2023鈥�24 school year. So far, there have been three cycles since spring 2024, DiMola said. Drexel鈥檚 College of Medicine and College of Nursing and Health Professions collaborate on two courses every cycle; three courses were also taught by co-op student teachers and one taught by a student on co-op with Drexel鈥檚 Expressive and Creative Interaction Technologies (ExCITe) Center.

Other courses have included:

• 鈥淓nvironmental Science,鈥� led by Colin Hennessy-Elliott,PhD, assistant clinical professor of STEM education in the School of Education
• 鈥淛apanese Language and Culture,鈥� taught by Ketevan Pirosmanashvili, psychology 鈥�26, from the College of Arts and Sciences
• 鈥淚T Careers,鈥� led by Eric O'Brien, manager of IT operations, and Matthew Rademaekers, systems administrator, both from the School of Education
• 鈥淒rexel Campus Experience,鈥� led by DiMola

鈥淪ince becoming the Program Coordinator and organizing mini courses here at Science Leadership Academy Middle School, I've seen our students grow in incredible ways,鈥� SLA-MS Program Coordinator Domonique Wright said. 鈥淭he Drexel courses that we have partnered with give them the chance to explore subjects past the traditional classroom, sparking new interests and helping them see themselves as capable, college-bound learners. They have become more engaged, even asking more thoughtful questions. I noticed a boost in their confidence as they interacted with college instructors. With it being some of their first time at a real glimpse of college life, it makes the idea of college feel exciting and achievable.鈥�

The University鈥檚 partnership with SLA-MS goes way back. The school opened in the University鈥檚 Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships in 2016, and Drexel helped with fundraising and financial support for their new, current building, which also houses the Samuel Powel Elementary School and is located near Drexel鈥檚 University City Campus. 

Offering these mini courses is a strong way to offer resources and give kids new experiences, DiMola said.

"This school year is the first year that we've had a really clear alignment with scheduling, so this partnership has really solidified,鈥� DiMola said.

Though this partnership is primarily through the School of Education, DiMola has brought in a wealth of knowledge from around Drexel, with mini course experiences taught by experts from the Bennett S. LeBow College of Business, Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design and College of Nursing and Health Professions. Through the 鈥淒rexel Experience鈥� course, students toured Drexel and sampled daily campus life. In one experience, they toured athletics facilities and spoke with the nutrition team and student-athletes; in another, they toured Drexel鈥檚 Mandell Theater, observed a class and met with dance faculty and students.

The College of Medicine and College of Nursing and Health Professions are two of the biggest collaborators in mini courses. The two colleges moved into Drexel鈥檚 Health Sciences Building (HSB) in April 2023 鈥� and SLA-MS is basically next door. The proximity inspired Annette Gadegbeku, MD, College of Medicine associate professor, family physician and senior associate dean of Community Health & Inclusive Excellence, to get involved as soon as possible, before she even knew about the mini courses. She got a team together from both colleges to create an interdisciplinary effort; they were collaborating with SLA-MS by the fall on 鈥淪cience of Health鈥� for fifth and sixth graders and 鈥淕o Into Health鈥� for seven and eighth graders.

鈥淲e have our own [Drexel] students talk to them about why they chose to study health sciences and what it takes to be a health sciences student so they can hopefully see people they relate to,鈥� Gadegbeku said. 鈥淲e're hoping to spark their interest enough so that we can inspire them towards that path to becoming a health professional, hopefully through Drexel.鈥�

Similarly, the 鈥淐ampus Experience鈥� mini course that DiMola teaches aims to expand the Drexel reach farther into the community, she said.

鈥淭he goal for me is to try to introduce students to different colleges, majors and career opportunities,鈥� DiMola said. 鈥淭hat way, they can start thinking about that path. We also pair it with experiences with Drexel鈥檚 Athletics and Performing Arts so they can think about enrichment and things they might want to get involved in.鈥�

Jason Bircaj, computer science 鈥�28, didn鈥檛 have teaching experience before tagging along to and helping out on the 鈥淒rexel Experience鈥� course with DiMola as a co-op student at the ExCiTE Center. He developed a mini course that taught kids how to do block coding before progressing them to make a game similar to Flappy Bird, and finally a final boss battle, designing a wizard or whatever character they wanted to fight a dragon.

While the students learned coding, Bircaj, a student in the College of Computing & Informatics, learned how to talk to kids and be patient when teaching, as well as how to stay agile and keep an open mind throughout the process. Along the way, he enjoyed seeing the kids be creative and explore new things.

To make a good mini course, DiMola said it鈥檚 vital that it has some structure to it (and maybe snacks, too). It鈥檚 important to talk to students and ask them about what they鈥檙e interested in and what they already know. It also helps to have something tangible 鈥� Chef Rich Pepino, assistant clinical professor in the College of Nursing and Health Professions, has the students engage in a collaborative conversation about food science, complete with taste tests. With tours of Athletics spaces, these young students toured behind the scenes of not just college, but college activities and offerings.

Students see the power of collaboration in every mini course. In the health sciences mini courses, Gadegbeku and her team have brought in students and faculty from both the undergraduate and graduate worlds, from physical therapy, physicians assistants, public health, family medicine residents and more. Generally, the mini courses take place at SLA-MS, but sometimes they bring the students to Drexel鈥檚 HSB to visit the simulation center or anatomy lab and incorporate games and quizzes.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e learning high-level concepts, but we make it very applicable and digestible,鈥� Gadegbeku said. 鈥淥ur most interactive sessions are our most successful sessions.鈥�