Science in Service Coordinator (school year)

Level/Pay Rate

Students are paid on hourly basis. The range is $13.00 to $13.50, depending on experience. Federal work-study or community service work-study is possible.

Hours

Up to 8 hours per week during the academic year (early October through early June; possible exceptions for overseas studies) except for dead week and finals week. Coordinators who are on campus or in the vicinity during the summer often meet informally for lunch and occasional program discussions, but this is not required.

Reports to

Kelly Beck

Context

Science in Service (SIS) connects Stanford students with community organizations to teach, learn, and share science. Stanford science and engineering students learn best practices for communicating science, especially to kids, and learn principles of effective service, and, in turn, are science mentors to children in the community. The Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula (BGCP) is our community partner.

SIS is unique to science outreach and service learning programs: science and engineering students from across the disciplines, service-learning staff, and community organization staff are equal partners in SIS. Through SIS Stanford students have an experience in civic engagement and public science leadership. At the same time, we are bringing scientific content enrichment to children who otherwise may not have positive experiences with science, providing the opportunity for the children to make personal connections to college science students, to young scientists.

Responsibilities

• Attend coordinator training/orientation sessions in Autumn Quarter (tentatively scheduled for September 24 and 25 or October 1 and 2) and orientation and training as needed at the Boys & Girls Club.
• Mentor/teach science to second through sixth graders at the Boys & Girls Club or teens at Central Community School.
• Lead team of 10 to 12 mentors.
• Assist with the recruitment, training, and recognition of volunteer mentors.
• Meet weekly with the Science in Service Program Coordinator to
  • continually develop and enhance the Science in Service program
  • review the upcoming science activities
  • discuss mentor development
  • review needs of children
  • assess challenges and successes
  • participate in leadership development
  • gain advanced teaching skills
  • conduct lesson review sessions weekly or biweekly
  • liaise with and guide mentors
  • select and develop science activities and lesson plans with the SiS director; includes learning methods of curriculum design
• Be prepared to either drive the van or arrange with another coordinator to drive the van.
• Possible additional projects:
  • create additional content and ideas for weekly mentor meetings
  • develop a newsletter
  • design and deliver new mentor orientation/training
  • develop online lesson review technology and resources
  • structure classroom management and youth development aspects of the Sciencein Service training for mentors and programming for youth
  • TA the new Science in Service course

Qualifications

• prior participation in Science in Service as a mentor
• experience in teaching, tutoring, or mentoring children/young people
• science/math/engineering teaching preferred, but other teaching experience acceptable
• experience or interest in leadership
• interest in education, science-for-all, and educational equity

To apply

The deadline to apply for the 2010-2011 school year has passed.

Future applicants should consider the following questions (limit of approximately 250 words each): 

1. Why do you want to be a mentor coordinator for Science in Service?
2. Describe one experience—either rewarding or frustrating—that you have had as Science in Service Mentor. What impact did it have on you? What did you learn from that experience that would influence your approach to being a mentor coordinator?
3. What is the relative importance of public/community service in the total college experience (i.e. academics, co-curricular activities, extra-curricular activities) of a science/engineering student at Stanford? You may answer this question from the perspective of the importance for you personally, or from the broader perspective of your vision of the importance for science/engineering students generally.

We are most interested in your honest perspectives and thoughts; we are not assessing the quality of your writing. In other words, it is ok to write informally, and we encourage candor.