Page 36 - Campus Technology, January/February 2019

2018
is a major recipient of benefits as well.
First, there’s the personal development of the 60-odd
students volunteering to work with the kids. “Not to pick on the computer science or engineering students, but a lot of them struggle with verbal skills and communication,” noted Pitcher. “If they can take a really high-level concept they’ve attained in class and teach a second grader, it’s less stress- ful for them to give a presentation on that concept.”
Also, many of the students find the experience of work- ing with the younger students “enriching and helpful,” said Espinoza. “These students gain experience teaching, be- cause they give workshops and help one-on-one. And they become mentors. [The younger] students see them as re- sources and look up to them.”
Plus, the college students gain a sense of satisfaction that can be elusive when they’re just starting out. “Some- times as a freshman or sophomore, you’re like, ‘OK, I have the basics, but how can I get more involved?’” asserted Pitcher. “This empowers our college students to feel like they’re already making a difference in their fields. That builds confidence.”
Then there’s the college student who worked with the program and graduated, became a teacher and brought her own class to participate, said Espinoza. “That’s worked full circle there.” Another teacher was so captivated by the pro- gram, she decided to pursue her master’s degree in educa- tion leadership so that she can bring Tech-E to a broader audience in her district.
Now the university is considering recruiting in its edu-
cation program so that future teachers can work with the youngsters for a couple of semesters before going out to a district for their pre-service experience. The advantage, Pitcher pointed out: They’ll “get a real feel for what it’s like to deal with kids in a classroom environment teaching tech- nology on a wide range of stuff. That’s less investment than waiting until your junior or senior year to find out if you really like to do this or not.”
Empowering the Younger
Generation
Another promising outcome of the program is how it could help mold the freshman experience. “We know a good per- centage of the kids coming to our college are coming from our local K-12 districts. Having a better understanding of their struggles and what they’re doing really helps us better prepare for those college students,” explained Pitcher. “We can set more real-world expectations of what our students are going to be lacking and how we can help them develop along that path.”
And, of course, added Espinoza, the K-12 students par- ticipating today will become college students eventually and that’ll give them the chance to come back and help out themselves. “More than likely, some of them will be playing the same role as our current college students are in em- powering the younger generation.”
Dian Schaffhauser is a senior contributing editor for Campus Technology.
Call for Entries
Are you making an impact with technology in higher education?
We want to know about it!
The 2019 Campus Technology Impact Awards call for entries is now open.
Nominations Due by April 15!
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CAMPUS TECHNOLOGY | January/February 2019
For more information, go to
campustechnology.com/impact.