Little Einstein`s - UBC Let`s Talk Science

+ Little
Einstein’s
After-school
science programs
OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNIVERSITY INTERNS
West 1 Community Schools Team:
Science Education and Outreach
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Introduction:
Youth Engagement Internships
Our “Little Einstein’s” science
programs take place in
schools during “out-of-schooltime” with the aim of giving
children the opportunity to do
hands-on science experiments
in a safe and fun learning
environment.
In addition, the programs aim to
foster peer-mentorship and
leadership development
among student participants.
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How it works…
Little Einstein programs run from 3:20 to 4:30pm in our
elementary schools (in the staff room or lunch room) for a
period of 7 weeks
Science supplies are brought to the school and stored for the
duration of the program
A VSB staff and “Youth Engagement Intern” arrive at the
school to prepare and greet students at 3:00pm
A small group of volunteer “Youth Leaders” from the
secondary schools help lead program activities alongside
interns.
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How it works cont’d…
Students from UBC Let’s Talk Science apply as “Youth
Engagement Interns.”
In this role, Interns…
Receive training in project planning, lesson planning,
healthy child development, and program evaluation;
Become oriented with age-appropriate experiments,
games, and activities
Learn how to design, deliver, and evaluate their own 7week after-school Little Einstein program
Engage and empower small groups of Youth Leaders to
co-facilitate lessons with younger children
Receive personalized letters of reference from the VSB
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How it works cont’d…
Students in Grades 10-12 are trained as “Youth Leaders.”
In this role, Youth Leaders…
Receive all-day leadership training
Complete a 7-week practicum placement in an out-ofschool-time (OST) program to practice their leadership
skills in a supportive environment
Complete weekly critical reflection sheets in order to
receive 20% of their final mark in Grade 11 and 12 REC
classes. They also receive volunteer credit hours required
for graduation and a personalized letters of reference from
the VSB.
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A Sample Lesson
3:20-3:30pm: Warm Up Activity- Identification of mystery fruit
(ex., kiwi in a can)
3:30-4:10pm: Students are organized into stations led by a
Youth Leader and follow the instructions of the experiment of
the day (ex., DNA extraction of kiwsi)
4:10-4:20pm: Everyone participates in cleaning up
4:20-4:30pm: Youth leaders facilitate a game with students
4:30-4:45pm: Intern and Youth Leaders debrief on how the
lesson went and plan for the following week
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How it Looks in Practice
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Impacts: Youth Engagement Interns
The majority of our Interns have felt that their role was so
important and fulfilling that they chose to continue leading
additional Little Einstein programs each term;
Many UBC students used their experience as an Intern to help
strengthen their resumes;
More than 20 interns have been hired to work part-time with
our team to help deliver, evaluate, and supervise out of
school time programs.
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What Makes the Program Unique
Each Little Einstein program is
designed, delivered, and
evaluated by Youth Engagement
Interns. Therefore, no two
program are alike!
The uniqueness of each program
(from the Intern and Youth
Leaders to the content)
encourages students to sign up
from term-to-term and year-toyear.
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THANK YOU!
We will be hosting information sessions for students
interested in VSB internships on:
Sept 20th 3:00-5:00pm
Sept 24th 1:00-3:00pm
Sept 25th 9:00-11:00am
If you would like to attend, please contact Marisol Petersen
by email at: mpetersen@vsb.bc.ca