Overview
The SEISMIC Scholars opportunity is a new, paid, remote summer research internship to connect undergraduate students with SEISMIC members who are developing educational tools and conducting research to understand how to enhance equity and inclusion in large, STEM introductory courses. SEISMIC Scholars will engage in various activities over the course of the summer, including data collection and analysis, weekly professional development seminars, engaging with other SEISMIC collaborators through the SEISMIC Summer Meeting, and presenting their work.
This program will enable undergraduate students to build interdisciplinary networks with fellow students, graduate students, faculty, staff, and post-docs across SEISMIC institutions. SEISMIC Scholars will receive mentorship from the Scholar team during weekly live remote meetings and their SEISMIC advisor as they work on specific projects. The program will support students’ professional development and further the goals of current SEISMIC projects to foster a diverse STEM environment.
SEISMIC Scholars Showcase (8/20/2021, 12-2 pm EDT)
ZOOM LINK: https://umich.zoom.us/j/96171829122
Please join us for poster presentations from our SEISMIC Scholars! A brief schedule is below, with session details further down on the page.
- 12 pm EDT: Welcome & Overview
- 12:10 pm EDT: SEISMIC Scholar Introductions
- 12:20 pm EDT: Session 1
- 12:55 pm EDT: Session 2
- 1:20 pm EDT: Session 3
- 1:45 pm EDT: Focus on Connections
- 1:55 pm EDT: Closing Remarks
SESSION 1 (12:20 pm – 12:50 pm EDT)
Breakout Room 1
- Michael Johnson – “Exploring and Supporting Equitable Policies From the Campus to the Classroom”
- Angela Torres – “Why aren’t students attending office hours?”
- Shubhi Sinha – “Investigating the effectiveness of write-to-learn assignments in increasing conceptual learning of Organic Chemistry II students at Indiana University Bloomington”
Breakout Room 2
- Ritu Gangadhara –“Critical Race Theory in Higher Education STEMM Contexts”
- Franchesca Inay – “Institutional Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Efforts at IU Bloomington”
SESSION 2 (12:55 pm – 1:15 pm EDT)
Breakout Room 1
- Karen Vega Vega – “Understanding Office Hours Practices and Student Experiences in Undergraduate STEM Courses”
- Josue Menjivar-Mendez – “Teaching Assistant Empathy in the Belonging Project”
Breakout Room 2
- Cindy Duong – “In Search of Equity”
- Anna Rickabaugh – “Comparative Analysis of SEISMIC Institutions’ Student Data Tools”
SESSION 3 (1:20 pm – 1:40 pm EDT)
Breakout Room 1
- Janna Crocker – “Creating a Tool for Discipline Inference from Lecture Keywords”
- Leta Bryan – “Comparative Analysis of Student Data Tools at SEISMIC Institutions”
Breakout Room 2
- Paola Pantoja – “Identify and Self Efficacy: Two Factors that Contribute to One’s Sense of Belonging”
- Arianna Stancari – “Effect of an ecological-belonging intervention on instructor empathy”
Focus on Connections (1:45 pm – 1:55 pm EDT)
Join the SEISMIC scholars in a breakout room to discuss their projects and future opportunities.
- Breakout Room 1 – Angela Torres, Karen Vega Vega, Janna Crocker
- Breakout Room 2 – Anna Rickabaugh, Leta Bryan, Michael Johnson
- Breakout Room 3 – Arianna Stancari, Josue Menjivar-Mendez, Paola Pantoja, Shubhi Sinha
- Breakout Room 4 – Cindy Duong, Ritu Gangadhara, Franchesca Inay
2021 SEISMIC Scholars
Leta Bryan
University of Michigan
Sophomore
Major(s): Undeclared, but interested in biology and biopsychology
Summer hobbies: Traveling with friends, playing Pokémon Go, watching Black Mirror, trying new crafts, and swimming
SEISMIC Project: Comparative Analysis – Implementing Change WG
Project Description: SEISMIC Scholars will be involved in research into the tools offered on different campuses, such as Know Your Students. The focus is on tools that provide student outcome data to faculty. Students will create a matrix with details on each tool, and reflect on the data being shared and whether that feels appropriate, whether there is missing information, etc.
Janna Crocker
University of California, Santa Barbara
Junior
Major(s): Mechanical Engineering with double minors in English and Professional Writing
Summer hobbies: Reading on the beach, video games, and hanging out with my dog
SEISMIC Project: Backchannel – Experiments WG
Project Description: The SEISMIC Scholar will become familiar with the platform to create training for students. A plan for appropriate deliverables will be created depending on the student’s skill set and interests.
Cindy Duong
University of California, Irvine
Junior
Major(s): Pharmaceutical Sciences
Summer Hobbies: Hiking, baking, biking, and gardening
SEISMIC Project: Content Analysis – Constructs WG
Project Description: As part of the content analysis project team, the SEISMIC Scholar will work with our team to understand how scientists write about equity and inclusion in top science journals (Science, Nature, and PNAS). They will help create and maintain a database of articles from these journals with key descriptors about how equity and inclusion are described. Through this project, they will learn about systematic search, data coding and extraction, knowledge organization, and qualitative coding.
Ritu Gangadhara
Indiana University
Junior
Major(s): Neuroscience and Psychology
Summer Hobbies: Painting, reading fiction, and running
SEISMIC Project: Framework Analysis – Constructs WG
Project Description: The purpose of this project is to compare the ways that constructs related to diversity, equity, and inclusion are defined and used in and across disciplines outside of STEM education. The Scholar will select a theory they are interested in and work alongside other project group members to complete a literature review and primer document. They will complete a short presentation capturing the goals of the overall project and how their project maps onto those goals.
Franchesca Inay
University of Pittsburgh
Senior
Major(s): Neuroscience and pre-med track
Summer hobbies: Helping my university’s health sciences library as a video captioning assistant, exploring new states with my family, and staying active through hiking/weightlifting/interval training 🙂
SEISMIC Project: Mapping Institutional Resources – Constructs WG
Project Description: This project is focused on developing an inventory that identifies and catalogues the different resources, programs, projects, and offices related to increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion at SEISMIC institutions.
Michael Norman Johnson III
Indiana University
Senior
Major(s): Mathematics
Summer hobbies: Jogging, listening to music, and learning more chess openings
SEISMIC Project: Grading Approaches – Implementing Change WG
Project Description: The SEISMIC Scholar will be involved in an extensive literature review into different aspects of grading, including the history of grading, alternative methods coming up on grading, and “Grading for Equity.”
Josue Menjivar-Mendez
University of California, Santa Barbara
Junior
Major(s): Electrical Engineering
Summer hobbies: Exercising/sports, video games
SEISMIC Project: Belonging – Experiments WG
Project Description: SEISMIC Scholars will be coding student and Teaching Assistant (TA) open-ended responses.
Paola Pantoja
University of California, Davis
Sophomore
Major(s): Mathematics and Chicano/a studies with a minor in Education
Summer hobbies: Going on bike rides and movie nights
SEISMIC Project: Access to Practice – Experiments WG
Project Description: One Scholar will download, organize, and code the peer review data from an O chem class at Indiana University. The second Scholar will work with us to develop a protocol for interviews with underserved students in large STEM courses and the focus of the protocol will be to develop a holistic understanding of students’ disciplinary belonging.
Anna Rickabaugh
University of Pittsburgh
Junior
Major(s): Computational Biology
Summer hobbies: Gardening, fishing, and geocaching
SEISMIC Project: Comparative Analysis – Implementing Change WG
Project Description: SEISMIC Scholars will be involved in research into the tools offered on different campuses, such as Know Your Students. The focus is on tools that provide student outcome data to faculty. Students will create a matrix with details on each tool, and reflect on the data being shared and whether that feels appropriate, whether there is missing information, etc.
Shubhi Sinha
Indiana University, Bloomington
Junior
Major(s): Molecular & Cellular Biology and Neuroscience
Summer hobbies: Graphic design, digital illustration, and hiking!
SEISMIC Project: Access to Practice – Experiments WG
Project Description: One Scholar will download, organize, and code the peer review data from an O chem class at Indiana University. The second Scholar will work with us to develop a protocol for interviews with underserved students in large STEM courses and the focus of the protocol will be to develop a holistic understanding of students’ disciplinary belonging.
Arianna Stancari
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Senior
Major(s): Biochemistry with a minor in pharmacology
Summer hobbies: Singing, playing the piano, doing crossword puzzles, reading mystery novels, and cooking
SEISMIC Project: Belonging – Experiments WG
Project Description: SEISMIC scholars will be coding student and Teaching Assistant (TA) open-ended responses.
Angela Torres
University of California, Irvine
Junior
Major(s): Pharmaceutical Science
Summer hobbies: Lifting weights, hiking, and going to the beach!
SEISMIC Project: Office Hours – Experiments WG
Project Description: SEISMIC Scholars will work on data coding and literature reviews.
Karen Vega Vega
University of California, Irvine
Junior
Major(s): Biological Sciences
Summer hobbies: Reading, working out, illustrating, listening to true crime podcasts and cooking
SEISMIC Project: Office Hours – Experiments WG
Project Description: SEISMIC Scholars will work on data coding and literature reviews.