Mentors
Teach Ourselves uses a
Facebook application to engage youth in earning rewards by solving, creating,
and sharing problems about science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) topics. The ultimate goal is to improve
STEM knowledge and inspire more individuals to pursue STEM careers.
What does a Teach
Ourselves Mentor do? Mentors use the Facebook application
to review and approve problems to support scholars in improving STEM knolwedge and
earning rewards. All discussions between scholars and mentors is
monitored. Mentors also supervise and participate in group and 1:1 discussions about STEM topics.
Who is a Teach Ourselves Mentor?
An adult STEM professional
employed by our partners:
University of Arizona
faculty, staff, graduate student
First, a short
pilot Starting May
2011, the pilot will test the basics of the Facebook application
allowing mentors and high school-aged scholars to discuss original problems ; verify
the work-flow from a scholar writing a problem, discussing with the
group, submitting to the mentor for approval, to publication
and sharing of the problem; and determine patterns in solving other published problems.
What does a mentor do during the pilot?
Participate in a short mentor
training (on-line)
Log into Facebook, "Allow " the
application in Facebook (done the first time only).
DO NOT become Facebook
friends! All interaction will take place through the monitored TO
apps inside Facebook.
Get assigned 1-5 scholars as
part of a TO group.
Review discussions generated by
the scholars in your TO group.
Initiate and respond to discussions with the group or specific scholars using the TO app.
Check the approval queue and
review the problems that need feeback and approval.
You
must approve complete,
accurate and appropriate problems. Each problem you approve can then be
sold for
publication by the scholar. Selling for publication earns the scholar
points that can be redeemed for a gift certificate from iTunes or
Amazon (during the pilot).
Once published to the TO
community, the problem is viewable by all members.
If you encounter any
problems, please contact the TO support team.
After
the Pilot Mentor roles will expand to engaging scholars in discussions
about careers and education, and perhaps develop a broader relationship
as a coach and role model, prodding less productive scholars, writing
letters of recommendation, suggesting contests and scholarships,
while continuing to inspire young minds to pursue science, technology,
engineering and mathematics.
