ABCS SHOWCASE

DIPLOMACY IN THE AMERICAS: THE PENN MODEL OAS PROGRAM

Francesca Arruda de Amaral (C'20), mfamaral@sas.upenn.edu 
in collaboration with Dr. Catherine Bartch, bartch@sas.upenn.edu
LALS328: Diplomacy in the Americas: The Penn Model OAS Program

In this course, Penn students delve into the role, history, and workings of the OAS and its political, economic, and societal impact in the region while working directly with area public high school students from Philadelphia and Norristown in preparation for the OAS’ annual high school model OAS simulation in Washington, DC. Thinking like a diplomat and guided by theories of democracy and others pertaining to the OAS’ pillars, university and high school students collectively examine the political, economic, and social situation of the Americas and propose feasible solutions to some of the region’s most critical issues. Students research and write policy resolutions, engage in public speaking, enhance critical thinking, and have the opportunity to turn theory into practice by taking one small action on a global problem. Hence, the course is an exploration of how the OAS, a large international organization, and Penn undergraduate and Philadelphia public high school students, working collaboratively can design and propose real solutions to world problems.
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SCHOOL CULTURAL GAPS: MANDATORY ABCS COURSES

Maria Baez, Tahira Islam, Dominique Martinez, Nico Santiago

BIBB160: ABCs of Everyday Neuroscience

Peer Review 1 - Grace Mattes

Peer Review 2 - Zachary Sweeney

Peer Review 3 - Sonia Radu

Mandatory ABCS course in relevant field for Penn undergraduates after declaring major
○ Allows Penn students to leave the typical classroom setting and apply their major in the real world
○ Encourages relationships between Penn and West Philadelphia, which can be beneficial for residents’ executive functions

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FINAL ACTIVITY AT PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF PRESENTATION

Megan Barksdale (C'20), mbarks@sas.upenn.edu
LING 077: ASL/Deaf Studies ABCS

Link to the video

Link to the written summary of the project

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NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND

Daniel Cohen, decohen@sas.upenn.edu; Alexa Schneck, aschneck@sas.upenn.edu; Joana Shehu, jshehu@sas.upenn.edu; Zach Sweeney, zsweeney@wharton.upenn.edu
BIBB160: ABCS of Everyday Neuroscience

Peer Review 1 - Sampath Kumar

Peer Review 2 - Dominique Martinez

Peer Review 3 - Sofiya Patra

Peer Review 4 - Noni Unobagha

Peer Review 5 - Claire Yu

Inequalities in Access to Education Resources & Support:

• The method of public education financing creates significant disparities in per pupil spending.

• This disparity is especially egregious in the funding of Philadelphia public school districts.

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IMPROVING THE STATE OF ADVISING FOR THE COLLEGE UNDERGRADUATE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

Michiyah Collins, michiyah@sas.upenn.edu; Preethi Kumaran, pkumaran@sas.upenn.edu

​URBS 178: Faculty-Student Collaborative Action Seminar in Urban University-Community Relations

Abstract HERE.

Full paper HERE.

Mental health concerns on college campuses have been on the rise for decades, and they are no stranger to Penn’s campus. The prevailing culture calls to redirect any such concerns to counseling services on campus that aim to decrease these statistics. The culprit identified is usually the ‘Penn Perfectionist’ trope, placing the blame on students for mis-prioritization of different elements in their life and undermining the multifaceted experiences of students — influenced by overwhelming amounts of both academic and non-academic responsibilities, societal/familial/personal/social expectations, financial concerns, post-graduate pressures, and the general struggles that come with the transition to adulthood. Our proposed model to better support students in their experiences suggests improving Faculty Advisor communication and training to better support students from a diverse set of backgrounds, improving Peer Advisor communication between both advisees as well as corresponding Pre-Major Advisors, and finally consolidating and building upon online resources for students to access. Through this multi-pronged approach, we propose a system which focuses on student needs holistically and consistently, to address issues at their inception.

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CIVIC YOUTH ACTION PARTNERSHIP (CYAP)

Caroline Donnelly Moran (C'22), cmdm@sas.upenn.edu; Noah Moyse (C'22), nmoyse@sas.upenn.edu
URBS-208-900: Faculty-Student Collaborative Action Seminar in Urban University-Community Relations (Penn Program for Public Service)

Our research addresses how the University of Pennsylvania can leverage its resources to create civic education and engagement opportunities for West Philadelphia middle schoolers in a democratic and mutually transformative way. Through observation during our time working at Comegys School, an under-resourced, predominantly black K-8 public school in West Philadelphia, and interviews with students, teachers, and Netter Center for Community Partnerships staff, we found that most Comegys students did not have many civic education opportunities during or outside of school—a microcosm of the national civic education gap. Inspired by the framework of implementation research, which emphasizes learning by doing, our purpose was to learn how to best increase civic opportunities at Comegys in a practical way.
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