Explore the NewFoS Education & Mentoring Activities

To establish the executable common scientific and technical language critical to advance TA research and applications through interdisciplinary developments with accompanying curricula that will educate and train a culturally and technically diverse workforce to translate TA innovations and entrepreneurship within the contexts of societal impacts and values. Textbook approach will be to create chapters that are ‘bite-size’ or modular in approach and cover concepts written around simple systems/models. The chapters ramp up in complexity. This could mean 100+ small chapters. Chapters will fall into one of 4 categories: Basic Concepts, Fundamental TA, Methods, and Applications.

Objectives:

• Engage researchers in thinking through the writing of the TA textbook for use in teaching TA to undergraduate (UG) and graduate students.

• Bring in real-world community needs, concerns, and issues that TA can solve by including examples of societal impacts that benefit society and diverse communities

• Provide examples of cultural relevance in both the language and example resources found in the textbook content. 

Output: TA modular textbook with supporting digital resources.

Outcome: NewFoS will produce a new generation of educational materials for the science and societal application of topological acoustics.

To bring in UG students to gain skills and co-design real world and societally relevant learning modules or projects that become available online. Students will design lessons and learning activities to communicate the concepts and science behind TA. Students will use the 5E model in designing their learning products for posting online.

Objectives:

• Engage students (UG student council, REM, and graduate) in vetting book content and providing feedback for learning access. 

• Engage students (UG student council, REM, and graduate) in NewFoS translation activities that helps future TA students (K-20) understand TA and its potential to improve and benefit communities (i.e., societal impact). 

Output: Curriculum Seminar designed for teaching 5E inquiry based learning model. Online open-source website with student-designed lessons and activities published that complement textbook chapters.

Outcomes: 

• NewFoS will grow the next generation of diverse researchers trained in how to teach topological acoustics and its applications to solve real world problems in information science, telecommunication, and sensing.

• NewFoS will grow a new and diverse workforce trained with working knowledge of topological acoustics and its role to address real world problems in information science, telecommunication, and sensing.

To gain a strong sense of belonging in STEM, NewFoS, and higher education, and opportunities for rich careers in STEM-related fields. Community College participants will participate in a 30-35 hour engagement experience that will introduce them to the different research taking place. They will be given real-time tours of labs at other locations as well as participate in local lab experiences. 

Objectives:

• Engage community college students in NewFoS in a way that is culturally and societally relevant.

• Introduce community college students to the research activities of the center.

Output: A 30-35 hour engagement experience will be designed. Video tours will be recorded and posted online. 

Outcome: NewFoS will grow a new and diverse workforce trained with working knowledge of topological acoustics and its role to address real world problems in information science, telecommunication, and sensing. NewFoS recruits and retains students (UG & grads) and post-docs of diverse and marginalized backgrounds that are under-represented in STEM into TA pathways.

To create an immersive experience to foster undergraduate pathways into TA research opportunities. We do this by introducing students to TA from a societally relevance lens and bringing in their own experiences with sound to the projects and through team mentoring that includes researchers, educators, and staff thus building and strengthening the TA community.

Mentor training: To make us more aware of how we engage with students by recognizing the students’ assets and their lived experiences thus bringing in their sense of belonging in TA.

Objectives:

• Engage and mentor under-represented UG students in NewFoS topological acoustics research and make it culturally and societally relevant.

• Create immersive research experiences that help a student understand TA foundations, methodologies, and applications.

Outputs: 

• Introductory primers on TA basics and on ‘intro to research’ designed for open-source publication. 

• 56 undergraduate students trained in TA research and professional development.

• Primary researcher(s) at each university along with relevant graduate students and postdocs trained in culturally responsive mentoring

Outcomes:

• NewFoS researchers, staff, and students are a part of a robust team mentorship network to further student academic success through gaining technical and professional skills.

• NewFoS recruits and retains students (UG & grads) and post-docs of diverse and marginalized backgrounds that are under-represented in STEM into TA pathways.

To provide a model to train and develop a culture of inclusiveness evident by our recruitment and retention of culturally and linguistically diverse students because their diversity belongs in STEM. Participants will be asked to identify a teaching (course or lab) or mentoring practice that they can re-design to be more inclusive.

Objectives:

• Build a sense of belonging for all participants in NewFoS by creating a culture of inclusion that values diverse populations’ knowledge and experiences.

• Support NewFoS members through immersive and inclusive leadership learning to improve mentoring, teaching, and research practices. 

Outputs: 

• A 12-month replicable training program will be designed. 

• Each participant will design a DEIB project plan for execution in their teaching, mentoring, or lab instruction.

Outcomes:

•  NewFoS recruits and retains students (UG & grads) and post-docs of diverse and marginalized backgrounds that are under-represented in STEM into TA pathways.

• NewFoS members will all have inclusive leadership and mentor training.

Offer a leadership growth opportunity for our researchers and staff to situate themselves as DEI allies in spaces of influence to advocate for inclusive practices and approaches, to help grow their unit diversity recruitment and retention efforts, and to serve as role-models in leadership that value diverse backgrounds as innovative contributors to TA. Participants will be required to create an impactful plan that incorporates a more inclusive practice into a critical aspect of their administrative position. Previous plans have included creating an inclusive recruitment plan for students entering grad school; designing a asset-based mentoring program in their dept; creating more inclusive policies around selection criteria into an academic program; and re-designing lab spaces to be more inclusive.

Objectives:

• Support NewFoS members in inclusive leadership learning to create concrete opportunities to enact change at their institution/unit/dept level that increases diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in STEM.

• Extend the culture of inclusivity beyond the boundary of the Center and into the other spaces we inhabit.

Output: Participants of this leadership program will work independently or in a group on designing an inclusive leadership plan to execute at their institutional office/unit/dept.

Outcome: NewFoS members will all have inclusive leadership and mentor training.