“UC alumni should be truly representative of the people of California” K. Pister, Senior associate to the President, 1998

Student and resource distribution Most California minorities in S. Cal.; LA > OC > Riverside UCI is the UC growth point that serves these counties The School of Biological Science draws a large fraction of minority students Bio. Sci. has a tradition and infrastructure for excellence in minority science education

History of Bio. Sci. MSP NIH high school tutors (Santa Ana High) Howard Hughes program (computer lab) CAMP - NSF funded (Eng. Math, Phys.Sci) KIDS k-12 programs (Sat. math academy) MBRP- Research (NIH, undergrad, grad) Bridge programs (CC, Cal State U.) Minority international research MIRT-NIH Neuroscience (NIH-M. Leon)

Program concepts Use faculty to provide academic content Shield faculty & provide support & logistics Self selecting, dynamic, initiative, not command driven, not pre-determined Multiplicity of approaches; social/academic Theme: critical thinking skills, develop tools for learning and writing science

Lesson learned from minority science education programs Minority problems are same as majority, only exacerbated; emphasize excellence Science is an active ‘way of learning’, scientist develop (coach) other scientist Professional educators study the process, but often don’t know how to coach science Critical thinking underlies science

Lessons cont. Critical thinking is formal/precise; separation observation (fact) from interpretation (concept). Requires a reiterative training-coaching process Along with development of initiative (active learning), provides high level ‘learning skills’ needed for math and science Can sustain a student in academically disadvantage situation

MSP resources at Bio. Sci. MSP Faculty Committee; S. Byrant, M. Leon, B. Hamkalo, F. Ayala, R. Miledi, A. James Supportive research faculty (over 70 participants/Bio.Sci./COM) Supportive School:199 course, Excellence in Research, Undergraduate Journal Excellent Staff (J. Rea, A. Velazquez P. Winters) and three NIH funded programs Excellent minority students ( 15 Excel.Res. Hon.)

Dilemma of research faculty and ‘outreach’ Faculty are over committed; priorities research, mentor graduate, undergraduates, academic and community service Minority problem is big - not a natural fit Must define faculty role Academic oversight is essential/continual; administratively implemented programs are not enough - will eventually fail

Program structure Follow proposal of Science Outreach Faculty Committee; Academic director and administrative staff to provide coordination Dr. L. Mota-Bravo 50% effort for outreach Provides logistics & advice (faculty & HS) Assist with procurement of resources Assist with evaluation & non-sci. program co-ordination (including career awareness)

How most campuses administer outreach programs Funding often resides in student affairs Lots of administrative staff No coherent faculty role No pedagogic aims, oversight or plan No quantitative specific aims or criteria for evaluation or resource distribution Not dynamic/selective for academic success

“Unless we find a way to improve eligibility, the makeup of the University and its student body will become increasingly dissimilar and separate from the broader population which is our mission to serve”

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Existing elements Science Fair; Gardner/Bryant Ask a scientist night: Estancia, Bell Gardens Talk shows; S. Lin Structural Biology in space workshops for teachers; McPherson Ecological Research for HS teachers; (A Bennett), L. Yoshida AP & honors course development; Yoshida UCI undergraduate tutors; AVID NIH-Bridge; CC based science labs, J.West

1997 UC Board of Regents adopts Outreach Task Force Plan School Partnerships; selected K-12 schools linked to specific UC campus Student academic development; special enrichment for individual students Outreach media and communication Research and evaluation GOAL: double UC eligible students from lowest quintile high schools

For outreach, academic elements underlie and must be integrated into any outreach that is to develop “UC-competitive” HS students Requires faculty participation

UC resources for outreach ‘98-99 State legislature commits $33 million for outreach (matching at K-12) 75% targeted to school centered programs Allocations for MESA, Puente programs Distributed to UC campuses Within UCI1/3 student affairs 1/3 Social Sci. 1/3 Science