Mini Courses Make a Big Impact on Local School Community
Every Wednesday in the fall, winter and spring, some Drexel University faculty, professional staff and students go back to middle school for an hour or so. Specifically, they go to Science Leadership Academy Middle School (SLA-MS) to teach a myriad of mini courses in health sciences, Japanese, IT careers and more.
In a partnership that began in 2021 , Drexel and the SLA-MS at 36th and Warren streets work together to offer mini courses designed to expand the young students’ horizons. The mini courses are usually held while SLA-MS teachers are in professional development and are taught not only by Drexel faculty and staff, but also by student-teachers from the School of Education who design their own courses. Recently, two undergraduate students developed courses focusing on communication and mindfulness.
“I worked really closely with the principal to align their mini course cycles with Drexel’s term cycle,” said School of Education Director of Strategic Partnerships Andrea DiMola, who facilitates courses led by Drexel faculty, professional staff and students. “That way, we can offer a different experience each term. I think hearing from college students and getting that perspective is really helpful for these young students.”
Though the partnership has been in place since 2021, the program really began to gel in the 2023–24 school year. So far, there have been three cycles since spring 2024, DiMola said. Drexel’s College of Medicine and College of Nursing and Health Professions collaborate on two courses every cycle; three courses were also taught by co-op student teachers and one taught by a student on co-op with Drexel’s Expressive and Creative Interaction Technologies (ExCITe) Center.
Other courses have included:
- “Environmental Science,” led by Colin Hennessy-Elliott,PhD, assistant clinical professor of STEM education in the School of Education
- “Japanese Language and Culture,” taught by Ketevan Pirosmanashvili, psychology ’26, from the College of Arts and Sciences
- “IT Careers,” led by Eric O'Brien, manager of IT operations, and Matthew Rademaekers, systems administrator, both from the School of Education
- “Drexel Campus Experience,” led by DiMola
“Since becoming the Program Coordinator and organizing mini courses here at Science Leadership Academy Middle School, I've seen our students grow in incredible ways,” SLA-MS Program Coordinator Domonique Wright said. “The Drexel courses that we have partnered with give them the chance to explore subjects past the traditional classroom, sparking new interests and helping them see themselves as capable, college-bound learners. They have become more engaged, even asking more thoughtful questions. I noticed a boost in their confidence as they interacted with college instructors. With it being some of their first time at a real glimpse of college life, it makes the idea of college feel exciting and achievable.”
The University’s partnership with SLA-MS goes way back. The school opened in the University’s Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships in 2016, and Drexel helped with fundraising and financial support for their new, current building, which also houses the Samuel Powel Elementary School and is located near Drexel’s University City Campus.
Offering these mini courses is a strong way to offer resources and give kids new experiences, DiMola said.
"This school year is the first year that we've had a really clear alignment with scheduling, so this partnership has really solidified,” DiMola said.
Though this partnership is primarily through the School of Education, DiMola has brought in a wealth of knowledge from around Drexel, with mini course experiences taught by experts from the Bennett S. LeBow College of Business, Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design and College of Nursing and Health Professions. Through the “Drexel Experience” course, students toured Drexel and sampled daily campus life. In one experience, they toured athletics facilities and spoke with the nutrition team and student-athletes; in another, they toured Drexel’s Mandell Theater, observed a class and met with dance faculty and students.
The College of Medicine and College of Nursing and Health Professions are two of the biggest collaborators in mini courses. The two colleges moved into Drexel’s Health Sciences Building (HSB) in April 2023 — and SLA-MS is basically next door. The proximity inspired Annette Gadegbeku, MD, College of Medicine associate professor, family physician and senior associate dean of Community Health & Inclusive Excellence, to get involved as soon as possible, before she even knew about the mini courses. She got a team together from both colleges to create an interdisciplinary effort; they were collaborating with SLA-MS by the fall on “Science of Health” for fifth and sixth graders and “Go Into Health” for seven and eighth graders.
“We have our own [Drexel] students talk to them about why they chose to study health sciences and what it takes to be a health sciences student so they can hopefully see people they relate to,” Gadegbeku said. “We're hoping to spark their interest enough so that we can inspire them towards that path to becoming a health professional, hopefully through Drexel.”
Similarly, the “Campus Experience” mini course that DiMola teaches aims to expand the Drexel reach farther into the community, she said.
“The goal for me is to try to introduce students to different colleges, majors and career opportunities,” DiMola said. “That way, they can start thinking about that path. We also pair it with experiences with Drexel’s Athletics and Performing Arts so they can think about enrichment and things they might want to get involved in.”
Jason Bircaj, computer science ’28, didn’t have teaching experience before tagging along to and helping out on the “Drexel Experience” course with DiMola as a co-op student at the ExCiTE Center. He developed a mini course that taught kids how to do block coding before progressing them to make a game similar to Flappy Bird, and finally a final boss battle, designing a wizard or whatever character they wanted to fight a dragon.
While the students learned coding, Bircaj, a student in the College of Computing & Informatics, learned how to talk to kids and be patient when teaching, as well as how to stay agile and keep an open mind throughout the process. Along the way, he enjoyed seeing the kids be creative and explore new things.
To make a good mini course, DiMola said it’s vital that it has some structure to it (and maybe snacks, too). It’s important to talk to students and ask them about what they’re interested in and what they already know. It also helps to have something tangible — Chef Rich Pepino, assistant clinical professor in the College of Nursing and Health Professions, has the students engage in a collaborative conversation about food science, complete with taste tests. With tours of Athletics spaces, these young students toured behind the scenes of not just college, but college activities and offerings.
Students see the power of collaboration in every mini course. In the health sciences mini courses, Gadegbeku and her team have brought in students and faculty from both the undergraduate and graduate worlds, from physical therapy, physicians assistants, public health, family medicine residents and more. Generally, the mini courses take place at SLA-MS, but sometimes they bring the students to Drexel’s HSB to visit the simulation center or anatomy lab and incorporate games and quizzes.
“They’re learning high-level concepts, but we make it very applicable and digestible,” Gadegbeku said. “Our most interactive sessions are our most successful sessions.”