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Getting the most out of your High School and College ExperiencePresented by:Dr. Noveera AhmedKhulood Sharif

Welcome! Topics we will cover

Motivation to pursue a career in STEM

Meaningful Extracurricular Activities

Aim high

How to be academically successful

Foundations begin in High School

● Nearly 4 in 5 STEM college students (78%) say that they decided to study STEM in high school or earlier

● 1 in 5 (21%) decide in middle school or earlier

● More than half (57%) of STEM college students say that, before going to college, a teacher or class got them interested in STEM

How much do students feel prepared for a career in STEM?● Only 1 in 5 STEM college students feel that their K–12 education prepared them

extremely well for their college courses in STEM● Students who felt less prepared for STEM college courses said that offering more STEM

courses and having better/more challenging courses would have helped to better prepare them

● 96.5% of incoming freshman surveyed earned an A or B average, but 58.6% reported spending fewer than 6 hours a week doing homework in 12th grade.

● 72.1% of incoming freshman surveyed believe that their academic ability was above average or in the highest 10% among people their age(Eagan et al. 2013)

PATHWAYS TO STEM IN HIGH SCHOOL

● Physics● Chemistry● Biology● Project Lead the Way Classes (PLTW)● A.P. courses ● Electives (environmental science,

computer science, anatomy and physiology, health science, engineering, etc.)

PATHWAYS TO STEM IN HIGH SCHOOL

● Algebra● Geometry● Pre-calculus● Calculus/Computer Science● A.P. Courses● Electives

Islam teaches us to have a growth mindset

How to build a growth mindset1. A growth mindset can help us take action

2. Taking action is the key to growth

3. Our brain is like a muscle - the more you use it, the stronger it gets

4. Growth comes from struggle

Metacognition• Preview: What do I already know? What do I need to learn

more about? How does this fit in with what I already know• Attend: Fill in the gaps with what you have just learned. Ask

questions.• Review: What am I still confused about? How will I find the

answer?• Study: What am I expected to know or be able to do to demonstrate

mastery of the material? How can I practice to gain mastery?• Check: Are my study methods effective? Do I understand the

material well enough to teach others?

High-yield Strategies for LearningSimilarities and Differences +45*◦ Comparing, classifying, analogies/metaphors

Summarizing and Notetaking +34*◦ Creating a concise version of information, with questions

Reinforce effort/Get Feedback +29*◦ The right effort leads to success

Practice and Repetition +28*◦ Meaningful practice with feedback

Non-linguistic Representations +27*◦ Visuals, manipulatives, diagrams

Cooperative Learning +23*Generating and Testing Hypothesis +23*◦ Problem solving, making predictions, systems analysis

Questions, Cues, and other Organizers +22*◦ Pose questions, introduces and categorizes information* indicates percentile gains on exams

Meaningful Extracurricular ActivitiesWhat has meaning for YOU? Focus on your interests - make it have impact!● Sports and Athletics

○ Builds teamwork and leadership skills● Academic clubs and competitions

○ Builds on interests in new ways and helps you develop new skills● Art, Music, and the Performing Arts

○ Builds public speaking skills and creative problem solving● Politics, Speech, and Debate

○ Builds public speaking skills and global perspective to complex problems● Volunteerism and Activism

○ Builds empathy and global perspective to complex problems● Teaching in Tahir Academy/Tutoring

○ Builds leadership, empathy and patience, solidifies your knowledge

What activities show that you have an interest in STEM? ● Research

○ Undergraduate research, Summer UREs, high school programs■ https://www.nsf.gov/cr

ssprgm/reu/reu_search.jsp (look in January)

● Internships - Employment○ Industry and academia

■ Ex. lab technician

Things to do during a pandemic (for a college student)● Take a class

◦ Study for standardized exam (GRE)◦ Build study skills

◦ https://openstax.org/details/books/college-success◦ MOOCs

◦ Coursera (https://www.coursera.org/) - free online courses◦ Coding (https://www.codecademy.com/ and https://code.org/ )

◦ Taleemul Quran (https://www.altaqwa.us/) ● READ!● Working

◦ Job that will build skills● Help out

◦ https://usa.humanityfirst.org/

Science Projects you can contribute to at home

https://www.si.edu/volunteer/citizenscience

https://www.citizenscience.gov

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/idea/citizen-science-projects/

https://www.zooniverse.org/

https://scistarter.org/finder

Schools may be closed, but your creativity is open!

Students across the nation are engaging in scientific inquiry despite the pandemic

Here are a few examples:● A high school junior in Virginia designed a graphene mask to protect from

COVID-19https://patch.com/virginia/fairfaxcity/professors-show-interest-high-school-juinors-coronavirus-mask

● A 17-year old from Washington State launched a homemade website to track the spread of COVID-19

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/03/30/the-high-schooler-who-became-a-covid-19-watchdog

Science Resources Science News Daily provides scientific reading for Grades 6-12 https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/

At home labs and experiments for Grades 6-12https://www.flinnsci.com/athomescience/?utm_campaign=MKT20383%20-%20Mar20-DistanceLearning-President-Email-v2&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Net-Results&utm_content=MKT20383%20-%20Mar20-DistanceLearning-President-Email#

Educational Resources/Study Tips for Grades K-12https://www.hmhco.com/blog/free-learning-resources?utm_medium=email&elq_extcampid=7015A000001TzAdQAK&utm_source=WF1175051b&utm_campaign=7015A000001TzAdQAK

Khan Academy

Virtual ToursSmithsonian National Museum of Natural History https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour

NASA Langley Research Center https://oh.larc.nasa.gov/oh/

National Museum of the United States Air Force https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/

Oxford University’s History of Science Museum https://hsm.ox.ac.uk/past-exhibitions-and-displays

Museo Galileo https://www.museogalileo.it/it/

The National Museum of Computing https://www.tnmoc.org/

Museum of Science in Boston https://www.mos.org/

Natural History Museum in London https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/natural-history-museum

New England Aquarium https://www.neaq.org/

Navigating High School/College for Success

1. Engage in prayer and write to Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih (atba) for prayer

2. Set Short-Term and Long-Term Goals● Identify realistic long-term goals and break the task down into more manageable “stepping stones”

3. Master Time Management● Try to maintain a constant set schedule with consistent sleep-wake patterns

4. Select a Balanced Course Load● Take the most challenging level of core courses that will not overwhelm you as well as electives you

enjoy

Navigating High School/College for Success

5. Be active outside the classroom

● Are you a part of your community? Do you strive to engage in community service that makes a difference?

● Are you interested in sports? Extracurriculars?

6. Participate in Class

7. Take time out to participate in activities of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

● Reflect on your ultimate goals as an Ahmadi Muslim

8. Take time out to do things you enjoy and take care of yourself

● Get enough sleep, eat well, spend time with friends and family

Aim higher!

● Don’t fear failure - learn from it● The bigger the risk - the greater the reward● Don’t take failure personally

Pray for your success

Guidance from our Beloved Imam “Work with diligence, passion and above all, constantly seek the Help of Allah the Almighty at every step of your academic journey and keep His Majesty at the forefront of your minds. With these words, I pray that may Allah the Almighty enable you to flourish and to achieve great success in your fields of expertise. And may we soon come to witness the dawn of a new Islamic golden age of intellectual progress and advancement, led by Ahmadi Muslims across the world –Ameen.”