Science and Math Education in ACTION helps prepare incoming freshmen

This year's BGSU cohort attended classes online

Science and Math Education in ACTION is a Choose Ohio First scholarship program at Bowling Green State University for top students from across Ohio who plan to be science and/or mathematic teachers after graduation.

Incoming scholars attend the ACTION Summer Bridge in July prior to freshman year. Normally, this is a residential program, but with all summer classes at BGSU being online, the 2020 Summer Bridge was hosted as a remote experience for the 27 new students.

Students attended interactive class sessions on Zoom on weekdays and also participated in evening social activities designed to help the new students build a sense of community.

One Friday evening event that the scholars really enjoyed was “Murder in Ancient Egypt” hosted by TeamBuilding. This activity uses “escape the room” game mechanics to solve clues and the ACTION student participants were enthusiastic about their experience.

“Our group of 27 students was randomly divided into five teams and we gathered hints through analysis of information provided by the hosts. It was interactive and incredibly well organized,” Matt Woehrman said.. “It gave me an opportunity to work with those I did not know very well in a non-academic setting and fostered a level of interaction that mirrored that of a face-to-face experience. I would highly recommend this activity to others.”

“The Zoom call was very engaging and allowed us to bond together in teams," Aleisa Tobin said. "Each teammate was able to play a role with their different strengths in figuring out the puzzles, including math skills, riddles, symbol word scrambles and more. The teams put all their clues together at the end to determine who committed the murder and their motives. The hosts were able to amuse all of us at once and kept us on our toes.”

“The murder-mystery event was exciting, fast-paced, and professional!” Abby Gilfillen said. “I thoroughly enjoyed each of the breakout challenges. I specifically enjoyed the curated mix of word, math and picture questions because they showcased every team member’s unique skill set. Teambuilding.com maintained an organized event filled with links, slides and stories that captured my interest while also being neatly and efficiently planned. While in-person parties are always a blast, this virtual counterpart was remarkably entertaining.”

“I enjoy solving puzzles, as many of the ACTION scholars do, so this was a perfect activity for us," Elliott Gowdy said. "Each group had the opportunity to earn extra points even if they weren’t the fastest group solving the puzzle and the organizers did a good job helping out with clues and making sure that everyone was included. I had been worried that I wouldn’t get to know people in ACTION because Summer Bridge was online, but this activity helped me learn a little more about the people in my group.”

Teambuilding.com offers a variety of virtual team building activities and the company has grants available for educational institutions and non-profits. During this unique season of physical distancing, it is a way for groups to have fun and build community while staying safe.