Lily Popova Zhuhadar | API Profile

Lily

Popova Zhuhadar

Western Kentucky University

My Conference Goal:

I am keenly interested in deepening my understanding of the National Science Foundation's ADVANCE program, a track designed to foster gender equity in the academic spheres of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

My Project Goal:

This project aims to empower K-12 teachers and undergraduate students in the K-14 education system with practical research experience in applied robotics and generative AI. Our goal is to create a community of practice that involves K-12 science teachers, undergraduate students, and faculty from Kentucky colleges in a collaborative effort to enhance STEM education.

This initiative can potentially significantly increase the participation of underrepresented groups in these fields. As a result, it may challenge and change the longstanding perception that too few Kentuckians are choosing careers in STEM. This shift in perception could directly influence the number and quality of students pursuing STEM professions.

Project Working Title:

RET Site: Data Science, Robotics, Generative AI, and Ethics.

Project Idea or Description:

The WKU RET Site will provide a professional development opportunity for the K-12 science teachers related explicitly to statistical thinking, problem-solving, and data science, encourage teachers to pose analytical questions and use critical thinking to work with unconventional data, strengthen teachers’ pedagogical understanding of engineering design and computational thinking in alignment with Next Generation Science Standards, enhance teachers’ scientifical thinking and under¬standing of how to ask questions about data, use visualizations, and make decisions, engage teachers in AI Ethics, and empower them with knowledge in AI regulation and understanding of AI Ethics.
Participants: 10 K-12 science teachers will be recruited each year from Bowling Green and surrounding school districts from underrepresented groups in mathematics, computer science, and engineering (e.g., Women, African Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanics) within local districts.
Project’s Activities: Teachers will participate in the summer program (six weeks). The daily activities will be devoted to training, research, and producing applied project deliverables.
Intended Impact: RET Site will empower science teachers with research experience in applied data science research. It will build a community of practice that engages thirty k-12 science teachers, three colleges, eight faculty, and two instructional designers in a shared effort to improve STEM education.
Keywords: Engineering design, computational thinking, data science, and AI ethics.

How will this idea advance broadening participation in computing?

WKU RET Site will provide a professional development opportunity for the K-12 science teachers related explicitly to statistical thinking, problem-solving, and data science, encourage teachers to pose analytical questions and use critical thinking to work with unconventional data, strengthen teachers’ pedagogical understanding of engineering design and computational thinking in alignment with Next Generation Science Standards, enhance teachers’ scientifical thinking and understanding of how to ask questions about data, use visualizations, and make decisions, engage teachers in AI Ethics, and empower them with knowledge in AI regulation and understanding of AI Ethics.