Public EngagEmEnt at illinOis - University of Illinois at Urbana ...

iRISE + AVID students learn physics with the help of Illinois staff and students.
iRISE + AVID: Engineering our Future Through
University-Middle School Partnerships
Consider a course that challenges students to master
basic engineering design concepts resulting in such
projects as a customized walking cane, a shoe
insole, and an algorithm that detects errors in binary
code. Does this class sound like a college course
Incredibly these are the projects of the bright minds
of students at Edison and Franklin Middle Schools of
Champaign Unit 4 School District who begin learning
fundamental scientific principles with the ultimate
goal of creating a practical product that meets a real
world need.
Dr. Sharlene Denos, K-12 Outreach Coordinator
and Postdoctoral Researcher at the Center for
the Physics of Living Cells, believes providing
science-based enrichment activities for pre-college
students is essential to inspiring future scientists
and engineers who will one day discover solutions
to critical social and economic challenges facing
our state, nation, and world. She and her team of
graduate students have begun addressing the need
for such enrichment activities by developing and
implementing the Illinois Researchers in Partnership
with K-12 Educators (iRise).
Each spring semester iRise graduate students
and faculty collaborate with Champaign Unit 4
teachers to offer a weekly series of science-based
lessons. Administered through the Advancement Via
Individual Determination (AVID) program, a collegereadiness
system designed to increase learning
and performance, iRise was established in 2010 to
provide hands-on science and engineering learning
opportunities for middle school students and to
enable Illinois engineering graduate students to
develop valuable teaching skills and cultivate highimpact
outreach programming. iRise uses the Next
Generation Science Standards, which are based on
the National Research Council Framework for K-12
Science Education, as a curriculum guide and the
Teach for America program as a model for content
delivery.
“It’s a meaningful way for faculty and students
to engage with public schools through a long-term
relationship,” said Dr. Denos, who began K-12
engagement programming as an Illinois graduate
student participating in the National Science
Foundation Graduate Stem Fellows in K-12 Education
program.
Through this program, Dr. Denos gained
experience teaching in local public schools where
she developed and delivered science curriculum
in addition to facilitating professional development
workshops for science teachers.
The thirteen graduate students enrolled in the
Electrical and Computer Engineering 598 course
associated with the iRise program represent
diverse concentrations within engineering including
electrical and computer engineering, bioengineering,
aerospace engineering, civil and environmental
engineering, and agricultural and biological
engineering. In addition to Dr. Denos, iRise course
16