SERVICE LEARNING
COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION VOLUNTEER WORK
Gold Experience
Reverse-engineering involves analyzing a subject system and extracting knowledge from a system for the purposes of duplication or enhancement. This means that part of reverse-engineering the brain is extracting knowledge about how the brain works from observing and learning about behaviors and thought processes. Through my service learning experiences with computer science education, I had the opportunity to consider how the brain works and learns at different life stages and see how structure, such as a curriculum, shapes the learning process.
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I plan to continue with computer science education outreach in grad school.
SEPTEMBER 26, 2017 - MAY 20, 2018
CREATIVE CODERS
In response to student desire for more computer science service opportunities, I co-founded Creative Coders with another student at UMBC. The program introduced middle school students to computer science principles through one-on-one mentoring by a UMBC student and a game development project. As the Curriculum Development Coordinator, I was responsible for developing and dynamically updating the curriculum used to teach the students.
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In total, I spent around 220 hours on this program.
DECEMBER 9, 2017
QUHACKS
I volunteered for QuHacks, a hackathon for middle and high school students which I helped organize. I helped to coordinate the UMBC volunteers, provided support for the event, and ensured that everything ran smoothly.
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In total, I volunteered for 11 hours.
DECEMBER 4 & 5, 2017
HOUR OF CODE
During this event, I introduced students from UMBC and Lakeland Elementary/Middle School to computer science for Computer Science Education Week. I used my knowledge of learning to help guide the students who were having difficulty with their Hour of Code challenge without giving them the answer. I led the students who participated from Lakeland Elementary Middle School in an activity to introduce artificial intelligence and to start the students thinking about what intelligence is. This event was covered by the Retriever.
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I spent 9 hours volunteering at this event.
NOVEMBER 10, 2017
COMP 101: COMPUTATIONAL THINKING AND DESIGN CLASS VISIT
I visited a section of the COMP 101: Computational Thinking and Design Class at UMBC to talk about my experiences with Computer Science and the Computer Science Education student organization. I personally presented on Artificial Intelligence and robotics.
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This visit and preparation took approximately 1 hour.
NOVEMBER 3, 2017
NORTH COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL VISIT
Four other members of the Computer Science Education student organization and I presented "Computer Science! College and Beyond" to four different groups at North County High School. The presentation focused on computer science careers and college options.
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This presentation lasted around 4 hours.
DECEMBER 7 & 8, 2016
HOUR OF CODE
This picture, taken by Marlayna Demond, shows me helping one of the students with her coding activity.
See this Baltimore Sun article for more details.
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I volunteered for this event for around 3 hours.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
HOW MY SERVICE EFFORTS ALIGN WITH THE GOALS OF THE PROGRAM
During my service experience, I:
Demonstrated integrity by pursuing service endeavors that aligned with my core beliefs and values.
Exhibited perspectivism and teamwork by collaborating with various individuals to develop the Creative Coders program and considering their perspectives and concepts when creating the curriculum.
Showed realistic vision and persistence by working toward a larger goal of improved computer science education for all by creating a small program to address this issue.
Demonstrated flexibility by updating the curriculum for Creative Coders on the fly in response to feedback from the mentors and mentees.
Demonstrated commitment by dedicating a lot of time and energy to producing a quality curriculum for Creative Coders and by volunteering for other events.
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Additionally, I:
Participated in community action by developing a program for UMBC students to volunteer at a local middle school to address the national issue of access to computer science education.
Demonstrated civic agency by working with students with different perspectives and backgrounds toward a common goal of expanding access to computer science education.
Reflected on my impact on the community and the effect of the community on myself by participating in beginning-of-semester goal-setting meetings, bi-weekly Student Coodinator meetings, and end-of-semester reflection sessions for the Creative Coders program.
Appreciated the importance of activism and involvement by investing approximately 260 hours volunteering for various computer science education service endeavors.