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Mercy And Verizon Provide STEM Training For Kids From Under-Resourced Schools

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Students show their parents what they've learned in coding class

July 23, 2024

By Jeff Wilson–

Classmates and families looked on approvingly as Vincent watched the delivery of his palm-sized Clash of Clans-inspired Ninja figure from a 3D printer. Some onlookers used their phones to snap pictures of the student and his project.

It was July 17, nearing the last day of the Verizon Innovative Learning STEM Achievers summer program at Mercy University in Dobbs Ferry, as middle-schoolers showcased final projects they’d created during the three-week free enrichment course. (The Bronx campus would hold its showcase two days later.) The program served 138 mostly minority students – fifth through seventh graders – from 75 mostly under-resourced schools across Westchester County and the Bronx. (The Dobbs program had about 75 students.) The kids received hands-on instruction using cutting-edge technology to help them build technical and entrepreneurial skills for careers in science, technology, engineering and math. This mission incorporated coding, 3D design and printing, augmented reality, robotics, social entrepreneurship, and mentorship.

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“All of our showcases (in the different areas) had to show the things we’d been working with. Basically we had to make [each project] do something,” said Arnelle Banks, who teaches Digital Production Innovation (DPI) – or simply 3D Printing, at Mercy. In each class, they had to do something so the parents could see how the things work.” Banks, who also taught in the Verizon STEM program last year – its first year being hosted by Mercy – said she addressed the differences in students’ prior knowledge by having the stronger ones teaching their needier peers, fostering friendships in the process.

Did students benefit from the complex technical instruction? Were there any “AHA!” moments from the kids? Banks was asked. “Oh, for sure, there were lots of those,” she replied. “Especially when they saw their designs printed out, they were super-excited, ready to go home and show their parents.”

The Robotics/AI course taught by Glenniqua Hazel on the Bronx campus (identical to Dobbs Ferry’s) had students using the app Sphero.Edu to program robots – in this case small vehicles called RVR’s – to navigate through “communities” (boxes placed on the floor), with an actual story created on the computer to explain the bot’s travels. Hazel described her pedagogy, which was similar to Banks’. She overcame varying levels of prior knowledge, she said, by employing differential learning. “I don’t like leaving children behind if they can’t grasp the curriculum,” she said. “I was able to have them work in groups so they could learn from each other.” Hazel praised the students’ attitude toward the work. “They all showed an eagerness and willingness to learn the new curriculum, explore the different things that AI can do,” she concluded.

A small but valuable part of the program was a visit to Mercy’s nursing simulation lab, where the students explored the technology and engaged in activities endemic to the medical field: taking vital signs, using a stethoscope, and practicing on a medical dummy. The program also included a field trip to Five Island Park in New Rochelle, where the kids observed an underwater rover and performed marine biology experiments.

The program’s aim is to “help to address barriers to digital inclusion under Citizen Verizon, the company’s responsible business plan to help move the world forward for all,” according to Verizon’s mission statement.

That sentiment was echoed by Daniela Martinez, Programs Facilitator of Mercy University Center for STEM Education: “What makes this program so important is that it gives students from under-resourced communities and from diverse backgrounds opportunities they would otherwise not have access to. Everyone is welcome. At the end of the day, we make sure kids have the best learning experience possible.”

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