You can learn A LOT from a 6th grader...

On yesterday, I had the distinct privilege of presenting "You Can Learn A LOT from a 6th Grader: [Field] Notes from the Pilot of an After-School STEM Program" at the 2017 Georgia Tech STEM Education Research Expo, which was hosted by the Georgia Tech Student Chapter of the American Society for Engineering Education (GT-ASEE). The presentation was about the top 10 lessons I learned from middle school students about their interests while working with them in our research program last year. One of my professors, Dr. Lauren Margulieux, told our Doctoral Research Seminar class about the Expo and so I figured I would submit a proposal to see what would happen.

​I learned a valuable lesson from a professor at Bowie State University, Dr. Paul Hester, "Let them tell you 'No. Do not count yourself out by not applying.'" Although he was talking about jobs, I do believe that this advice is applicable in many cases. So when I received the news that I was accepted, I was very excited. When I told Dr. Margulieux of my acceptance, she said that she was going to come, and she did.
 
It is always good to have friendly faces in the audience. I also had a classmate, Kerry Wallaert, in the crowd. We just worked together to present on Multimodal Analysis on Monday, and here it was Friday, and we were presenting again. Her presentation that morning was at the Association of Fraternity and Sorority Advisors Annual Meeting in downtown Atlanta where participants engaged in "conversations about social class and class indicators within their fraternity/sorority community starting with their own story."
 
In addition to presenting a poster, the GT-ASEE also selected me to give a short 8-minute talk on my work. I was the last one on the program but first to arrive. We needed to set up at 2:30 pm, but I got there, super early...12:30 pm. I wanted to make sure that I found parking and had time to calm down from being excited and nervous. You can only be so excited after waiting for a long time. During that time, I jotted down notes on my presentation print out and texted friends.

I enjoyed the other presenters and made a couple of suggestions that I hope will help as they move forward in their work. One of my recommendations was to a presenter who was grappling with how to capture in a few words the reason one of her participants felt the need, as a Black man, to get a Ph.D. in Chemistry. His reason for pursuing a Ph.D. reminded me of the concept of Double Consciousness as discussed by W.E.B. Du Bois in The Souls of Black Folks. I wrote down Double Consciousness and W.E.B. Du Bois on the back of my card. As I slipped it to her I asked, "Have you read...." She responded "No. I have not" and thanked me for  the suggestion.

It is funny how things happen sometimes. The presenter just before me could not get the PDF to show in presentation mode on the one computer all of the presenters were using. So he switched it out to his laptop and closed the other one. When he shut the laptop, I thought to myself "Oh no!" Do you know what happens when you close a laptop versus what happens when it goes to a screen saver, versus what happens when it goes into hibernation mode? My presentation was on the closed laptop. I was ready for anything when it was my turn, and anything did happen.

When he opened the laptop it said 29%...it was installing updates. After seeing that screen, I held my printouts in my hand, introduced myself, said that I taught high school Biology for seven years and so [in the words of Ray Charles] we are going to "make it do what it do" and started my presentation. After spending so much time on this work, I had something to say, knew what I wanted to say, and did the best I could under the circumstances.

A few moments after I started sharing about our program, the two people working on the laptop got my presentation up successfully. Once again, it is funny how things happen. I tried to help the previous presenter with his PDF presentation, and he ended up being one of the people to help me.

So I allowed my presentation to run with the timed transitions while I continued to talk. I received positive feedback, and a good suggestion for a web-based tool created by Georgia Tech, EarSketch, based on an area that I felt was in need of further research, finding the STEM in Music. This resource suggestion was icing on the cake.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of participating in conferences; meetings, expos, etc. You are walking amongst the living, breathing libraries of information that can pinpoint what you need better than Google...sorry. By engaging in discourse with others, they can help you find holes, make recommendations based on your needs, and suggest resources that may not have been amongst the curriculum of your years and years of schooling. Talking to people is important. They are priceless.

Each time I write or present it is practice for the next time. As a result, I am grateful for having the opportunity to practice with others in practice.

Please note that my poster was bigger and had more colors this time, as suggested by Dr. Asino and Stephanie (a long time friend from Hood College). I told you that I learn by listening.

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