Increasing Minority Engagement with STEM through a Summer Immersion Program in Plant Science

Plant Biotechnology: Frontier in Science

Please assist us in evaluating the effectiveness of each presentation/laboratory.

Participant: □Teacher

xStudent

PART 1

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SECTION A

Please rate your satisfaction with each of the following aspects of the presentation/laboratory

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Excellent / Good / Average / Fair / Poor
1. / Organization of the presentation / □ / x / □ / □ / □
2. / Clarity of Presentation / □ / □ / x / □ / □
3. / Presenter’s knowledge and expertise / □ / x / □ / □ / □
4. / Use of examples and illustrations / □ / □ / x / □ / □
5. / Effectiveness of presenter in delivering the subject matter / □ / □ / x / □ / □
6. / Feedback given in response to questions / x / □ / □ / □ / □
7. / Resources available for activities / □ / □ / □ / x / □
8. / Quality of handouts and written materials / □ / x / □ / □ / □
9. / Overall rating of this presentation/laboratory / □ / x / □ / □ / □
Comments:

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SECTION B

Please respond to the following questions below.

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What was the most valuable aspect of the presentation/laboratory experience?
Through this laboratory experience, I was able to learn the procedure necessary to produce the type of experiment in the future. I also learned the proper techniques to implement in order to complete the individual steps of the experiment (collecting cultures, smearing, heat shock, proper pipetting, etc.). Overall, I would say that this presentation/ lab experience did a good job in introducing me to some simple and valuable scientific processes/techniques, while reinforcing some that I hadn’t recently implemented.
What was the least valuable aspect of the presentation/laboratory experience?
I believe that the least valuable aspect of this experience was the extent of the focus put on pipetting. I understand that for work at such a microscopic scale like ours, it is necessary to be as accurate in measurements as possible. I also understand that the micropipets are a major tool used in this field in order to achieve accurate measurements, and as such, correct pipetting practices are a must. However, I believe that delegating two separate activities strictly for accurate pipetting practice is slightly frivolous. In practice, I believe that the second activity in which objects are weighed and observed for accuracy is more of a “meaty” practice in technical education moving forward in our work(then again, I can’t tell the future). In the future, I might think of taking out the first pipetting activity altogether.
What, if any improvements could be made for future similar presentations/lab experiences?
I believe that delegating two separate activities strictly for accurate pipetting practice is slightly frivolous. In practice, I believe that the second activity in which objects are weighed and observed for accuracy is more of a “meaty” practice in technical education moving forward in our work(then again, I can’t tell the future). In the future, I might consider taking out the first pipetting activity altogether. Other than that, I don’t believe I have enough experience in pGLO or similar labs to give a sufficient analysis of today’s lab work.

1

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