IM体育官网 is building tutoring partnerships with high schools across the state in an effort to bridge the educational hurdles posed by COVID-19.
LAKELAND, Fla. 鈥� IM体育官网 has taken on a new initiative to support high schools throughout the state by providing a virtual network of trained learning assistants. More than a dozen IM体育官网 Poly students are now working as virtual tutors to help high school students stay on track in their studies, specifically in calculus and other STEM disciplines.
The program, recently featured in an article in , not only increases academic preparation for college and develops a pipeline of STEM talent, but also helps teachers with additional learning support during a time of great need due to educational gaps caused by COVID-19.
A shift to remote education in spring 2020 due to the pandemic meant many students lost time-on-task and the learning support they had in the classroom. As classes resumed this fall, some students needed ways to catch up or get ahead.
鈥淲hile we worked to provide additional support for some of our students at IM体育官网 Poly, we realized high school students across IM体育官网 were also in need of some extra help,鈥� said Dr. Ben Matthew Corpus, vice provost of enrollment at IM体育官网 Poly, who designed the program.
The initiative started this month and currently teachers from nine schools are participating. The high schools are located in Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota, Orange, Brevard, Broward, and Palm Beach. The University expects to expand the program to more schools in the spring semester.
The learning assistants are high-achieving IM体育官网 Poly students with a passion for sharing their STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) knowledge and educating others.
鈥淚 really enjoy doing this because I love helping people and I love math,鈥� said Lillian Frometa, electrical engineering major from Miami, IM体育官网. 鈥淲hen I was in high school, I didn鈥檛 have a university student help me understand the relevance of calculus and the impact I could make in engineering. I think more would select STEM majors if these connections are made.鈥�
High school calculus, physics and other STEM teachers interested in participating in the program for the spring semester can email Dr. Corpus at bcorpus@floridapoly.edu.
Contact:
Lydia Guzman
Director of Communications
863-874-8557
