Teacher Professional Development & Mentoring and Research Infrastructure

VI-EPSCoR’s Education and Workforce Development (EWFD) Team is committed to building capacity and preparing USVI K-12 students with the skills to be effective members of the Territory’s future workforce. We are transforming STEM education in the USVI to be more grounded within the local environmental context and we encourage community action. The EWFD Team has enhanced their professional development model by building a STEM community dedicated to research-based best practices in teacher development, and increased student learning using environmental resilience research with a strong local context.

 

The Virgin Islands
Institute for STEM Education
Research and Practice (VI-ISERP)

 

We are a research and learning center focused on building capacity, teacher professional development, and preparing USVI K-12 and undergraduate students with the skills and expertise to be effective members of the Territory’s future workforce.

 

The STEM Institute

Our work prepares students to address ongoing environmental and sustainability challenges facing the Territory. The Institute offers programs designed to transform STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) education in the USVI to be more grounded in the local environmental context and connected to the groundbreaking marine science, watershed, and land use research. To best serve our students and teachers, the VI-ISERP is comprised of three teams: Education and Workforce Development (EWFD), Mentoring and Infrastructure (MRI), and Informal Learning (IL). Our teams work independently and collaboratively to prepare USVI students and teachers for STEM excellence and to increase community learning, engagement, and action.  

Our team integrates resilience research themes (i.e., mangrove restoration, coral reef ecosystems, and land-sea interactions) into teacher professional development to improve K-12 student preparation and increase underrepresented minority (URM) participation in the STEM pipeline. Our team provides student/faculty research infrastructure via support for pre- and in-service STEM workforce, with the goal to increase STEM career interest, skills, and retention. 

Objectives

  1. To build STEM partnerships and community dedicated to developing and implementing research-based best practices in teacher development and student learning using environmental research within the local context. 

  2. To develop mechanisms of support and development for STEM students (undergraduate and graduate) and early-career STEM faculty for career skill development, research productivity, and retention. 

  3. To create applied learning with a mentor for UVI undergraduate students to use STEM knowledge and skills in local classrooms. 

Mission

The Virgin Islands Institute for STEM Education Research and Practice is built on three pillars:

  1. Culturally Relevant STEM Learning: Facilitating STEM learning in partnership with R2R researchers and staff.

  2. Sustainability of STEM Resources: Developing expertise, support, and resources in STEM education for the local community and beyond.

University of the Virgin Islands student working at the mangrove nursery tables

Research themes are deeply integrated into our process. Photo by Dan Mele

To learn more visit The STEM Institute.

Teacher Professional Development Leads

Nadia Monrose Mills, Ph.D.

Teacher Professional Development, St. Thomas Campus

Dr. Mills is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of the Virgin Islands. She is a STEM education researcher whose current research agenda lies in mathematics teaching and learning, and STEM teacher professional development.  

In her research on mathematics teaching and learning, she studies the effects of active learning interventions on STEM students’ non-cognitive factors such as mathematics self-efficacy, mathematics anxiety, and sense of belonging.  

In her research on STEM teacher professional development, she co-directs the STEM Institute, which provides professional development to middle and high school STEM teachers to strengthen the STEM workforce in the Virgin Islands. In this capacity, she partners with other STEM Institute researchers to design and implement a professional development model that includes a summer workshop and yearlong support and trainings. She provides support to teachers through trainings in instructional strategies in the mathematics classroom, pedagogical content knowledge, project based learning, Common Core Standards for Mathematics, curriculum design, and action research.

Joseph Squillace, Ph.D.

Teacher Professional Development, St. Croix Campus

Dr. Squillace is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of the Virgin Islands, on the Albert A. Sheen campus. His research areas are combinatorics, mathematics teaching, and mathematics learning. Dr. Squillace has taught at the university level since 2012, and he is currently a co-director for the STEM Institute. 

As a co-director for the STEM Institute, Dr. Squillace provides support to teachers by assisting them with their professional development, by presenting and sharing resources on technology in the mathematics classroom, and by incorporating project-based learning.  

Dr. Squillace is interested in applying teaching methods that have proven to be successful, and he is always looking for new ways to stimulate the learning experience. In addition, he has created a Desmos directory that provides tutorials for teachers in high-school mathematics.

Michealrose Ravalier

Master Teacher

Ravalier is a Secondary Science Educator and Ph.D. Student at the University of the Virgin Islands. As an ardent believer in the Problem-based Approach to learning, she has leveraged her diverse background and creative thinking mindset to masterfully engage her students.

With a strong foundation in Microbiology and Environmental Science, holding both B.S. and MPH degrees from the University of South Florida, Michealrose Ravalier brings a wealth of expertise to her educational endeavors. Notably, she made history as the first Virgin Islander to be honored with the esteemed Maitland P. Simmons Memorial Award for New Teachers at the 2018 National Science Teaching Conference. Her distinction was further recognized when she earned the prestigious St. Thomas / St. John 2019/2020 District Teacher of the Year accolade. In 2021, she was honored with the Eco School Award from the Virgin Islands Department of Education.

Ms. Ravalier currently holds the position of Director of Professional Development for the St. Thomas St. John School District, where she extends her influence beyond her classroom. Her commitment to advancing education is further exemplified by her role as the Master Teacher with the VI EPSCOR, shaping the educational landscape of the St. Thomas district.

 

Mentoring and Research Infrastructure

 

The Mentoring and Research Infrastructure component supports pre and early career STEM professionals by promoting their professional development, research productivity and retention within STEM.

 

We provide mentor training workshops facilitated by certified trainers to foster continued skill development

We have developed unique psychological and professional skill scaffolding for undergraduate, graduate, and early career professionals to bolster industry relevant skills and navigational resiliency. We've had to be strategic and creative in our approach to fulfilling our mission. We’ve developed the 5 B’s to Boost Research Capacity: build internal and external collaborations through partnerships, build in-house expertise in mentoring and education research, build professional community through inter- institutional networking and targeted writing groups, be a conduit for research funding, and broaden opportunities for dissemination through regional and national platforms.

Our goals include supporting both student and faculty research infrastructure, via support for the pre- and in- service STEM workforce, with the goal of increasing STEM career interest, skills and retention. Our first objective is to develop mechanisms of support and development for STEM students, both undergraduate and graduate. Our second objective involves developing mechanisms of support and development for early career STEM faculty. For both of these targeted groups, we want to promote career skill development, research productivity, and retention.

To date we have recruited 4 teachers from VI schools, 3 on the island of St. Croix and 1 on the island of St. Thomas for engagement in our practicum program. Some of the educators have identified their R2R- linked PBL topics. Additionally, we have recruited 2 undergraduates and 1 post bac student for practicum placement. Our students include Dhakiya Liburd on the St. Thomas OEK campus, currently pursuing a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Mathematics with interest in being a STEM educator and future administrator in education. We are proud to also engage Allana Jackson on the Croix AAS Campus, currently pursuing a B.S. in Animal Science with interest in pursuing a career as a veterinarian. As well as Anayah Ferris, a post bac student and biology graduate, her future career interests include researching mechanisms of disease that combine her interests in biochemistry, organic chemistry, and medicine.

In Year 2, we conducted educational research training in collaboration with PEER, Professional development for Emerging Education Researchers out of the Rochester Institute of Technology. We executed a five-day intensive field school, where we were able to have PEER facilitators offer workshops on diverse topics including research ethics, research communication, publishing peer reviewed research, intensive training in qualitative research methods and also assisting faculty in transitioning their research interests within the classroom into more robust research projects.

We’ve conducted 3 resource presentations and mini educational research training workshops for the Creative Leadership for Innovation and Change PhD cohorts during their program orientations. We’ve also mentored graduate students in the UVI CLIC PhD program on their educational research- related theses. We surveyed CLIC graduate students on their training needs and identified targeted areas for training. As a result, in concert with UVI ECC we have scheduled monthly education research trainings for Fall 2023.

“We love the work we do, and the people that we impact with our work!”
— Dr. McSween

Accomplishments, Highlights & Goals

  • In the Spring 2022 newsletter, we highlighted Alexanne Carr, a junior in psychology mentored using the UVI Individual Development Planning tool. She was an Emerging Caribbean Scientists scholar and NIH Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (RISE) scholar. We are pleased to report that Alexanne successfully completed her degree and serves as a research analyst at the UVI Caribbean Exploratory Research Center. She intends to apply to graduate school to pursue neuroscience. Congratulations, Alexanne on joining the STEM workforce and your next steps!

    READ IT HERE ↗︎

  • Our writing group, Voices of Women in STEM (VOWS) is comprised of members that identify as female, and the majority are members of other minoritized groups in STEM. One example is Meria Marcel- Lewis. She is a math faculty and graduate student in the Educational Leadership for Change Track within the UVI CLIC PhD program. She has been awarded a fellowship by the HBCU Instructors Bridge to Academia Fellowship Program, which is a cohort- based program supported by NSF AGEP that supports ABD candidates, that are instructors at HBCUs, with career preparation and professional development training aimed at socializing them into the academy. Congratulations, Meria!

  • We have collaborated with the US Department of Education Title III Program Part F- Strengthening HBCU Program under the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act Program to develop a new professional development course for the Certificate in Biomedical Laboratory Science at the institution. The newly redesigned course is characterized by an integration of workforce preparation activities into a STEM content knowledge course to positively impact student proficiency in workforce-relevant skills and expose learners to goal setting and implementation utilizing an IDP tool. The 1st cohort successfully completed the course and were positively impacted by participation in its activities.

  • In collaboration with Dr. Nishika Edwards, an educational researcher at the University of South Carolina- Greenville, our UVI IDP was revised for use in their NIH NIA R25 funded Research Education Program targeted at underrepresented students to engage in summer research experiences, professional development and build pathways into STEM graduate programs and fields. Upon their request, we have also designed a training curricula series titled “Strategies for Being an Effective Peer Mentor”, anticipated to be implemented this Fall for their Student Ambassador peer mentoring program.

  • Our objectives for Year 4 include continued implementation of our current work. Supporting mentee/ mentor training for student training grants at UVI, continuing to support education research through mini- grant funding and implementation of our in- house educational research training series; supporting faculty writing and scholarship, engaging our Student Support Network to promote sustainability of our current efforts, recruiting and engaging scholars for our practicum program; and serving as a resource hub for professional development and dissemination opportunities.

  • Our newest mini- grant funded projects include Improving Ocean Literacy in the USVI: From School to University; Measuring Dependence of Random Variables; and Implementing Course Based Undergraduate Research Experience Projects in Biology. All three awardees are junior faculty in the College of Science and Mathematics. Our mini grant recipients for Year 3 participated in this year’s summer mentor training and as part of their work have already mentored 3 students. We have also provided one- on- one mentored opportunities or feedback for mini- grant recipients to assist them with budget management, the IRB submission process and strengthening the educational research components of their projects.

  • Dr. Bernard Castillo, Associate Professor in Chemistry, was our Year 2 awardee for the educational research mini-grant. His educational research project focused on integrating applied research into general chemistry laboratory courses aimed at positively impacting student’s attitudes toward STEM. As a result, a total of 26 freshman and sophomore STEM students have been incorporated into his project. His work led to 2 new collaborations, one with the UVI CMES- EAL lab and the Environmental Protection Agency along with student presentations on the work. The faculty member will use the results to apply for additional funding from the EPA, like grants related to environmental justice.

  • We have collaborated with the Emerging Caribbean Scientists Program to provide mentor training for faculty mentoring summer or academic year undergraduate trainees, as well mentee trainings on IDPs, compacts, and other professional development topics. We organized and facilitated their annual Summer Undergraduate Research Program where scholars received training in research methods, statistics, scientific literacy, abstract writing, research posters, science communication, maintaining health and balance, and goal setting, as well as 2 panels, one on the grad school experience and one on research careers, as well as participated in oral presentations on their summer internships or research. We also support training for the new NIH U-RISE T34 student training grant awarded to UVI, of which I am co- principal investigator, as well providing mentoring support for the workforce fellows in the NSF funded RII-BEC: Securing STEM Island Pathways awarded to Dr. Kristin Wilson Grimes and Dr. Lawanda Cummings.

Collaborators, Partners & Publications

Mentoring and Research Infrastructure Lead

Verleen McSween Missole, Ph.D.

Mentoring and Research Infrastructure

Verleen McSween PhD. is an Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of the Virgin Islands. She serves as the Director of the Mentoring and Research Infrastructure Component in the Virgin Islands Institute for STEM Education Research and Practice funded by NSF EPSCOR. Her current work focuses on characterization of institutional support structures that facilitate entry of STEM learners into the STEM workforce, and retention of STEM professionals in STEM career fields. She also serves as co- PI on an NIH funded training and workforce development grant, Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (U-RISE).

Meet The Team

SUPPORT TEAM
Julene Chapman-Dorsett, Administrative Specialist I – Ms. Dorsett joined VI-EPSCoR/VI-ISERP in August 2017 as an Administrative Assistant while working with the College of Science and Mathematics. Ms. Dorsett started working full-time with VI-EPSCoR in January 2023 as a highly motivated, detail-oriented administrative professional with clerical skills gained from years of hands-on experiences fulfilling multifaceted roles. Julene provides general administrative work to provide primary administrative support for the faculty, students, and staff for VI-EPSCoR, VI-ISERP faculty, staff, and teachers on the Albert A. Sheen and Orville E. Kean Campuses.
Celestial Dazle, Undergraduate Research Assistant – Upon joining the University of the Virgin Islands, Celestial has immersed herself in the business environment by choosing to major in Business Management with a minor in Communications. As an emerging leader on campus, Ms. Dazle took on many executive roles in different student organizations. A few of these roles included orientation leader for freshmen, Sigma Tau Delta Vice President, The Arts LLC President, and Student Government Senior Senator. Ms. Dazle is expected to graduate in the Spring of 2024, and she is an actively engaged student. Although the STEM field is not aligned with her career path, Celestial enjoys learning what she can in areas that she am not familiar with. Working as a research assistant with VI-ISERP has provided her with many opportunities to grow and to explore new ways of gathering and analyzing information. Celestial believes in lifelong learning and would like to learn as much as she can to eventually unlock her full potential. When she is am not focused on academics and school organizations, Celestial enjoys hobbies such as drawing, painting, writing, exercising, traveling, and socializing. 
Cassandra King – Cassandra King promotes STEAM education at the secondary and post-secondary levels. With at least 22 years of experience as an educator, and a leader in mathematics education, she develops opportunities for learning applications of mathematics in worldwide settings. Cassandra is a Master Teacher with the University of the Virgin Islands Institute of STEM Education, Research and Practice, and instructs part-time in UVI’s Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. She was the Program Coordinator for the Georgia Tech College of Computing Bits N Bytes Summer Camp in 2022. In addition to teaching fulltime at St. Croix Educational Complex High School, Cassandra chairs the Mathematics Department. Since 2014, she has served as SCECHS’ Middle States Association Accreditation Internal Coordinator. Cassandra co-developed a VI Cultural and Educational Mural Project, connecting mathematics and arts to the Virgin Islands culture. Cassandra advises the Mu Alpha Theta Chapter of the National Honor Society and was the lead educator for the Mathematics Science STEM Summer Research Academy. In the fall of 2018, Cassandra co-presented on a research project, "Integrated STEM Projects with Robotics and Web Development", at the International STEM Education Association Conference. She presented at the STEM Institute Summer Workshop at the University of the Virgin Islands. Cassandra holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and a Masters in Secondary Mathematics Education. 
Manal Abed, Undergraduate Research Assistant – Manal Abed was born and raised on the island of St. Croix, and she started attending the University of the Virgin Islands in 2022. Ms. Abed is a double major in Agricultural Business and Animal Science with hopes of one day becoming a veterinarian. She recently took on the position of undergraduate research assistant within VI-ISERP and so far, she has really enjoyed the experience. Between the positive environment and the overwhelming support and encouragement from her supervisors, Manal has shown tremendous growth in a short time. When she is not focused on school or work, she enjoys spending time with my family, reading a good book, and playing with her four dogs. She loves travelling, especially to different countries where she can experience different cultures, religions, and languages. Ms. Manal hopes that working as an undergraduate research assistant will open more doors for her to gain more experience at UVI.