NSF Scale-Up: STEM  #0929543     

PI:  Dr. Sarah Stein                  

Assignment Period: 8/2011-9/2013

Project Title: Scaling up STEM with the VCL    

This program aimed to increase mathematics knowledge of high school students and improve their disposition towards STEM careers in four rural school districts in North Carolina. In addition, the project provided technology-focused professional development for algebra and geometry teachers. As a research assistant for this grant, I performed the following activities:

• Served as coordinator of NSF ITEST grant 12-597, a $2 million grant proposal to advance the Teachers Training Teachers scale up model. As coordinator, I assisted with research, editing, and document management. In addition, I managed the proposal preparation process on the National Science Foundation’s online Fast Lane system (Now Research.gov).

• Sorted and classified hundreds of STEM-related articles. Selected, read, and analyzed the ones that most appropriately matched our research focus, and prepared annotated bibliographies.

• Performed various editorial duties, including writing literature reviews for the Cloud Computing and STEM Scale-up articles (still in progress). Also, performed various clerical duties, including preparing the biweekly NSF grant meeting notes and sending the notes to team members and pertinent staff.

• Served as contributing author in the manuscript entitled, “Improving K-12 pedagogy via a cloud designed for education.” The manuscript was published in the International Journal of Information Management.

NSF: EAGER # IIS 1144327 

PI:  Dr. Kiwanuka-Tondo                        

Assignment Period: 6/2013-12/2013

Project Title: Collaborative Research: Developing a Culturally Compelling Social Network Approach to HIV/AIDS Prevention for African American College Students

The project aimed to broaden access to and use of HIV prevention information in order to strengthen the capacity of African American college students to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in their communities. As part of the research support team, I was involved in the qualitative analysis of focus group interviews pertaining to HIV/AIDS stigma and performed the following research activities:

• Organized and reviewed existing transcripts of three different focus groups.

• Uploaded transcripts to NVivo and organized the data in the software program. 

• Analyzed the data critically using constant comparative analysis. Looked for similarities and differences on central issues. Helped code and categorize data.

• Summarized findings and drew conclusions.

• Wrote manuscript entitled, “HIV/AIDS stigma: Discussions from black female college students on the role of religious organizations and health institutions in promoting dialogue and dissipating shame.”  Submitted manuscript for publication.