New Power Advisory Team Guides Program to Support Budding Teen Software Designers |
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San Antonio Middle School Students to Become Software Designers in IDRA & Texas A&M University–San Antonio “VisionCoders™ Program
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San Antonio • August 31, 2021 |
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Education innovation requires brilliant leadership. To provide such leadership for the VisionCoders program, IDRA established the VisionCoders advisory committee, composed of prominent education and STEM experts.
In January 2021, IDRA partnered with Texas A&M University-San Antonio to launch VisionCoders, an initiative for 1,400 middle school students in at-risk situations to become part of the next generation of software designers and coders.
The advisory committee provides students with opportunities that focus on three key areas: empowerment, education and encouragement. These opportunities empower a sense of responsibility in leadership roles, engage students through meaningful experiences, and give recognition for student accomplishments and effort.
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Meet Our VisionCoders Advisory Team |
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Dr. Yuen is the associate dean for undergraduate studies in the College of Sciences at the University of Texas at San Antonio whose research interests include student diversity and success in STEM and computer science education. He earned his bachelor’s degree in information and computer science from the University of California, Irvine, his master’s in computer science from the University of Southern California, and his Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of Texas at Austin. |
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Javier is the STEAM Coordinator in the Department of Innovation and Transformation at Edgewood ISD in Bexar County. He received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics at the University of Texas at San Antonio and his master’s in education administration at Concordia University Texas. |
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Dr. Ryoo is an educational researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), whose research focuses on issues of equity in STEM and computer science education. She earned her bachelor’s degree in visual and environmental students from Harvard University, her master’s of education and teaching from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and her doctor of philosophy in education from UCLA. |
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Dr. Kim is an associate professor in mathematics education teaching undergraduate math methods courses at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. He earned his Ph.D. degree in mathematics education at the University of Minnesota, and has over 16 years of experience teaching mathematics in diverse contexts to a variety of learners. |
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Katie is the program manager for the Public Affairs Team Education and Workforce Initiatives at H-E-B, involved in providing students across Bexar County with experiential learning opportunities through technical internship programs for H-E-B. She currently serves on the CTE advisory boards for North East ISD, Northside ISD, San Antonio ISD, East Central ISD, Southwest ISD, Judson ISD, New Braunfels ISD, and Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD to improve career and technical programs in these districts. |
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Sarah is a technical writer who’s been closely associated with IDRA since 2013, contributing writing support for projects related to increasing equity in education. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English from the University of the Incarnate Word and her master’s degree in technical communication from Texas State University. For her master’s thesis, she studied the link between technical language and gaming interface in an online multiplayer game, contributing to her ongoing interest in gamification. |
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Dr. Garcia directs the IDRA VisionCoders™ project. She is IDRA’s STEM and gender equity education specialist with more than 10 years of experience in STEM education as a middle school science teacher, university instructor and graduate research assistant in engineering education. She earned her doctor of philosophy in interdisciplinary learning and teaching with a concentration in curriculum and instruction from the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). She also earned a master of arts in education and bachelor of arts in interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in grades 4-8 math and science from UTSA. |
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For more information on VisionCoders, contact Dr. Stephanie Garcia, VisionCoders project director and IDRA’s STEM and gender equity education specialist at stephanie.garcia@idra.org.
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5815 Callaghan Road, Suite 101
San Antonio, Texas 78228
Phone: 210-444-1710
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The Intercultural Development Research Association is an independent, non-profit organization. Our mission is to achieve equal educational opportunity for every child through strong public schools that prepare all students to access and succeed in college. IDRA strengthens and transforms public education by providing dynamic training; useful research, evaluation, and frameworks for action; timely policy analyses; and innovative materials and programs.
IDRA works hand-in-hand with hundreds of thousands of educators and families each year in communities and classrooms around the country. All our work rests on an unwavering commitment to creating self-renewing schools that value and promote the success of students of all backgrounds.
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