Description of the project:
Just in Time Learning: Initiated through a recent grant award from the Minority Serving Engineering Improvement Program (MSEIP) focuses on the college experience of students studying computer science, mathematics, and data science with the goal being bringing a just in time focus to their academics. Technology skills may be boosted via a synchronous or asynchronous self-learning environment or portal bringing communities together and offering “just in time training” (Wilkie, 2013; Shift, 2021). A review of LinkedIn Learning, Facebook Groups, Instagram Groups, Youtube videos, and other social media provides extensive examples of “just in time” learning/training already available to the masses. In this scenario curricular content is more controlled for individuals who are interested in boosting their knowledge and understanding through small chunk offerings of information available to students through their university website. In this manner the user feels they need a bit more training in a self-paced fashion. This satisfies the need for increased access. Now the university degree is not the singular method to learn coding, aspects of AI, robotics, etc. Rather, incremental learning and not having to wait for an expert has become a most compelling intervention empowering the worker or the individual in need of greater expertise at a moment’s notice (Shift, 2021; Brame, 2013; Pappas, 2016).
Presenter:
Dr. Mary Jo Parker is currently a faculty member in the Natural Sciences department at University of Houston-Downtown. She also is Executive Director of the Scholars Academy, an academic unit in the College of Sciences & Technology supporting STEM majors through scholarships, a mentoring network system, broadening experiences, and professional assimilation experiences. She currently is PI on six active federal grant awards across federal and state agencies ($2.4M). She brings extensive experience in curriculum and development, supervision and leadership at K-12 and higher education, K-16 outreach and STEM recruitment, online instruction, and closing the achievement gap for minority STEM students. Dr. Parker has incorporated service learning into the University Seminar (Transfers) core course and formerly in the online non-majors biology course she created in 2011-2017. She has been at UHD for fifteen years and continues to be the longest serving director.