Mentor Opportunities

Evidence has shown that the best way to teach students about science is to give them the opportunity to think and act as scientists.  The Science Education Committee of the Virginia Academy of Science (VAS) would like to help as many students as possible have this opportunity to “learn by doing” through providing an outreach program in which mentors recruited from the Commonwealth’s colleges, universities, and research centers work long-term with students in high school classrooms on a research project of local interest.  These mentorships are individually designed between prospective mentors and middle/high school instructors for the needs of their specific class, and mentoring may be done both virtually and in-person.  The work that may be produced from this mentorship in the classroom could be used for presentation at the 2027 Virginia Junior Academy of Science meeting (vjas.org) or other formal, juried settings that would partially satisfy the requirements for the Virginia Department of Education’s (DOE) Seal for Excellence in Science and the Environment program.

Students/Parents: Email Dr. Michael Wolyniak (mwolyniak@hsc.edu), VAS Science Education Committee Chair, to discuss research topics and prospective mentors with which we can match you.

Teachers: Please complete the form found at https://secure4.hsc.edu/forms/view.php?id=116443 to describe your class(es) and how a mentor could work with you to develop and implement student research projects.