The Educator Professional Development Workshops & Online Courses offered via the UNM STEM-H Center/Kupono Learning Lab provide educators with opportunities to engage in face to face and/or self-paced online professional development training including Research Challenge/Science Fair Bootcamp, Project Management for STEM-H Educators, Safety & Ethics in Student Research, and our newest modules under the JSHS Training Modules.
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The STEM-H Educator Professional Development Workshops & Online Courses provide educators with opportunities to engage in face to face professional development workshops including Research Challenge Bootcamp, Project Management for STEM-H Educators, & Preparing for Competition Judging. Additionally, several FREE online courses are available including Research Challenge Bootcamp, Managing Local STEM-H Competitions, Safety & Ethics in Student Research, and more are in development!
The STEM-H Student Researcher Bootcamp Workshops, run in partnership with Explora Science Center, provide middle and high school student researchers with project development skills/ support/resources along with additional available workshops in Responsible Conduct of Research, Judging Preparation, Animal Protections in Research, Human Protections in Research, and more.
The Self-Paced Research Challenge/Science Fair Bootcamp covers the following content in an interactive, a self-paced, online format:
CENTRAL NM REGION: Completion of either the in person or online Bootcamp by at least ONE committee member from each school/organization wishing to field a local SRC/IRB is MANDATORY!! Completion of either the in person or online course by at least ONE person from each school planning to send students to the Regional Research Challenge is also MANDATORY.
The self-paced online course may be substituted for the face-to-face workshop. However, for those who have never attended the face-to-face Bootcamp, we highly recommend attending on-site at least the first time through as there tend to be a lot of questions that can be best answered in person.
PARTICIPANTS FROM OUTSIDE CENTRAL NM: Educators/competition coordinators from outside the Central NM SERC region. Participants from outside the Central NM region will need to consult with their regional fair director for rules & deadlines specific to their regional competitions. Participants from outside Central NM are NOT required to complete the Central NM-specific module of the training and no assessment questions are asked about that section of material.
Watch this quick video on How to Register/Enroll.
In-Person OR Online, Self-Paced Training
We continue to partner with Explora Science Center whose awesome educators host & facilitate these engaging workshops!! There are lots of tools for you to use as you do your research or engineering project! You’ll participate in hands-on activities that will help you understand the process of inquiry, choose a topic, and begin to put your project plan together. There will also be a basic review of the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) Rules & Forms for Pre-College Research as well as all the important deadlines for the Central NM Science & Engineering Research Challenge.
For 4th-8th Grade Students. FREE! FUN! BACK IN-PERSON AT EXPLORA FALL 2021! Lots of tools for you to use as you do your science or engineering project! Hands on activities using common household items will be facilitated by staff at Explora to help you understand the process of inquiry, choose a topic, and begin to put your own project together! Certificate of Participation upon completion.
More than one session will be offered. Each session is limited to 30 students. The weekday sessions are intended to offer a class field trip opportunity while meeting science and math standards.
This workshop is open to students from outside the Central NM SERC region. However, such students will need to be aware they need to consult with their regional fair director for rules & deadlines specific to their regional competition.
Dates for the 2023 Student Researcher Bootcamps will be posted in August 2023.
The UNM STEM-H Center is developing a 5-module, self-paced, on-line course which will be accessible to both teachers and student researchers. The training modules will focus on best practices for presenting student research. Many students and teachers often need increased understanding and proficiency in skills such as writing abstracts and research papers, preparing oral presentations, creating effective slide decks, and data analysis & statistics.
These training modules will offer teachers an opportunity to build their own skill base and increase their confidence in supporting student researchers as they prepare for JSHS and other STEM research competitions. The modules will provide student researchers interested in being well prepared to present their work in research competitions or poster sessions with the knowledge and skill development to do that with confidence.
The new training will be available via the STEM-H Center’s Learning Lab page as each module is released. Keep checking back…the first 3 modules will be released by the end of April 2021. The remaining 2 modules will be released by the end of June 2021. The training modules are and will always be FREE of charge. A certificate of completion for each module can be printed once the requirements of the modules have been met. Teachers – certainly use these certificates as proof of completion of professional development. Students – keep the certificate(s) as proof of completion AND add the modules you complete to your resume!
Watch a quick video on How to Register/Enroll.
This module contains an overview of JSHS and other Army Education Outreach Programs as well as additional competitions in which student researchers may present and compete with their work. We hope that raising awareness about the many programs/competitions/opportunities and the fact that students can participate with the same project in more than one event will encourage students to complete a research project and increase participation in the various competitions. Students who compete in one or more STEM research competitions become eligible to compete for millions of dollars in prizes, scholarships, trips, and more!
This is a comprehensive training focused on how to write high quality STEM research papers to journal publication and competition standards. Additionally, a significant portion of the training addresses how and when to write an effective, publication-ready project abstract.
This module presents best practices for the design and presentation of research findings in PowerPoint (or other similar applications). The training offers information about creating engaging visuals, using best practices for things like fonts/font sizes, color schemes, data visualizations & graphics, choosing a theme, recommendations about use of animations, etc.
Learn to plan for, design, and rehearse your oral presentations during competition judging and/or poster presentations. How do you relate to your slides without reading from them? What are the best ways to plan & design an oral presentation of research findings? Are there tips & tricks to creating awesome oral presentations? How much rehearsal is recommended? What are the most effective ways to prepare to present orally? How should presenters dress? How can presenters effectively deal with their nerves, anxiety, or stage fright? What are some presentation pacing strategies?
Learn to choose the best statistical testing methods for a project, understand how to run those tests, figure out what the analysis means, and finally understand how to interpret the results of data analysis. Having a solid handle not only on the raw data, but on what the statistical analyses of the data reveal will help researchers explain and support their written & oral presentation of findings during competition judging.
(Responsible Conduct of Research, Human Protections, & Animal Protections)
Online, Self-Paced Training
This online course offers training and resources designed to help you and your students identify, clarify, and address safety & ethics challenges that frequently arise when designing, conducting, or reporting research...and applies to research done in the classroom as well as projects taken on by students outside of class.
The workshop includes Responsible Conduct of Research, Human Protections, and Animal Protections.
Course Developers: Dr. Bill Gannon, Director of UNM's Responsible Conduct of Research Program, helped develop the Responsible Conduct of Research module. Linda Petree, Director of the UNM Main Campus Institutional Review board, helped develop the Human Protections module. Katy Mirowsky-Garcia, Operations Manager for the UNM Office of Animal Care Compliance, along with consultation from the UNM veterinarian, Dr. Kevin O’Hair, helped develop the Animal Protections module.
Responsible Conduct of Research SAMPLE Topics
Animal Protections SAMPLE Topics
Human Protections SAMPLE Topics
Do you want to interact with, encourage and support future scientists and engineers? If you are looking for fun volunteer opportunities with an impact on today’s youth, look no further! Volunteer with the STEM-H Center! We need enthusiastic individuals to help out with all three of our STEM Competitions.